Belgian outfit Versus Production has announced that it is currently developing the series Terrorist Hunter, based on the best-selling book by Lionel D and Annemie Bulté Terrorist Hunter - The Special Units and the Hunt for Abdeslam. Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah (Bad Boys For Life, Rebel [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Adil El Arbi e Bilall Fallah
scheda film]) will once again join forces with Mathieu Mortelmans to direct the series after their successful collaboration on the show Soil (2021).

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The aforementioned book (published by Racine Publishing) was co-written by Lionel D, who spent 15 years with the federal police's Special Operations Units. It centres on the events that happened in 2015 in Belgium. In Verviers, the men of the Special Units stormed a house where three terrorists were preparing an attack. The ensuing shoot-out came a week after the deadly Charlie Hebdo attack; it foreshadowed the wave of terror that would hit Belgium and France. In 2017, Lionel D left the strike force and decided to tell his story. It is an exceptional testimony, which takes us behind the scenes of this elite police unit.

The script adaptation of the book is being developed with three co-writers: Kevin Meul, Domenico La Porta and Benjamin Sprengers.

Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah explain their interest in the story: “During our great collaboration with Mathieu Mortelmans on the series Soil, it was immediately clear that we had a common passion for the film adaptation of the fantastic book Terrorist Hunter. The book gives an in-depth insight into the fight against terrorism from the point of view of the strike force. It’s a subject that has intrigued us for years. Together with former chief inspector Lionel D, of the Special Intervention Squadron, on whom the book is based, we want to present a human perspective on the lives of our special units, the events in Verviers and their hunt for Salah Abdeslam in the form of a raw, realistic action-thriller series.”

Mathieu Mortelmans adds: “Collaborating with my friends Adil and Bilall felt really good from the get-go. Pretty soon after Soil, we put our heads together to put our shoulders to the wheel on a new project. Our shared passion for the exciting book Terrorist Hunter, based on a true story, seemed like the ultimate opportunity to do so. Gaining the trust of Lionel D and Annemie Bulté to direct this story feels like a privilege. I am looking forward enormously to creating an exciting but also realistic portrait of these people, but also to showing the ‘backstage’ of these special, risky operations.”

Jacques-Henri Bronckart, of Versus Production, is thrilled to be working with the team: “With the opening of the trial for the terrorist attacks in Belgium, we are convinced that this well-known story must be told from a totally unknown point of view. Gaining the confidence of Lionel D, a former special police officer, is a great asset as we dive into the reality of these men who are, above all, human beings and not totally prepared to face the consequences of this bloody violence. Working with this great and talented team is exciting, and it promises to be a strong and bold TV series.”

The shooting of Terrorist Hunter is slated to take place in 2024.