'12 Strong' - Calling in the Cavalry after 9/11

Right after September 11, 2001, a small band of American soldiers and CIA agents infiltrated Afghanistan to take on the Taliban. They joined forces with Northern Alliance horse soldiers to take on the Taliban and al Qaeda.

Horse Soldiers: The Declassified True Story Of The Horse Soldiers finally brings their story to the screen on January 19, 2018.

%embed1%

The movie stars Chris Hemsworth (Thor, Red Dawn), Michael Shannon (Nocturnal Animals, Boardwalk Empire), Michael Peña (Fury, End of Watch), Austin Stowell (Bridge of Spies, Whiplash), Geoff Stults (Only the Brave, Enlisted) and Elsa Pataky (Fast & Furious 5-8).

The Northern Alliance fighters include  Navid Negahban (American Sniper, Homeland), Laith Nakli (24: Legacy), Fahim Fazli (American Sniper) and Yousuf Azami (Lone Survivor) and Said Taghmaoui (Wonder Woman).

Marine veteran and comedian Rob Riggle takes on a dramatic role as Colonel Max Bowers, commanding officer of the 3rd Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group. Riggle served under Bowers in Afghanistan in 2002.

12 Strong is produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, who also produced Black Hawk Down as well as about a million tv shows. Bruckheimer hired first-time feature director Nicolai Fuglsig, an acclaimed Danish news photographer who's also directed some of the best commercials of all time. Oscar winner Ted Tally (The Silence of the Lambs) and Peter Craig (The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Parts 1 & 2) wrote the screenplay, based on Horse Soldiers: The Extraordinary Story of a Band of US Soldiers Who Rode to Victory in Afghanistan, the acclaimed book by best-selling author Doug Stanton.