Focus Features has optioned the recent New Yorker article The Yankee Comandante, which tells the story of an American who helped Castro and Cuban rebels overthrow Fulgencio Batista, with George Clooney set to direct the film.

The film is based on a recent article in the New Yorker from the May 28th edition, written by David Grann. Reports Deadline:

The article is about William Alexander Morgan, an American who helped Castro and the Cuban rebels overthrow Fulgencio Batista. He’d reached the status of Comandante, the sole foreigner other than Argentinian Che Guevara to be so highly regarded. Shortly after, Morgan — a shadowy man whose motives for being there were subject to suspicion — was imprisoned and facing a firing squad, charged with working for U.S. intelligence. At the same time, his exploits as a rebel soldier led J. Edgar Hoover and everyone else scrambling to sort out his motives and who he was working for.

Clooney is also set to produce the film with his partner Grant Heslov through Smokehouse Pictures. Are you excited to see Clooney tackle this material?