'Fifty Shades Of Grey' Star Jamie Dornan Lines Up Netflix War Drama Film 'Jadotville' In 2016

Now that Jamie Dornan is enjoying the box office success of the weekend opening of “Fifty Shades of Grey,” the kinky star is already setting his sights on another project. Netflix has announced that it has picked up the exclusive rights to the military drama “Jadotville.”

After playing the BDSM-loving Christian Grey in the adaptation of E.L. James’ erotic novel, “Fifty Shades of Grey,” Dornan is hanging up his blindfolds and whips for a rifle and military clothes. Dornan will star in “Jadotville” as Commander Patrick Quinlan, a man who once led 150 members of an Irish U.N. battalion through a siege by some 3,000 Congolese mercenary troops working for mining companies in 1961. Dornan will square off against Guillaume Canet (“Tell No One”) as the French commander.

According to Variety, the film will be directed by commercial and music video director Richie Smyth and was written by Kevin Brodbin. Netflix acquired the worldwide streaming rights to the film at the 2015 Berlin Film Festival. It is scheduled to begin production in April with a release date sometime in 2016.

“The story of how Pat Quinlan led his troops against an overwhelming force without losing a single man is one of the great stories of the 20th century, and we are proud to be working with such a talented and committed team to bring it to life,” Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos said in a statement. “This film will be an amazing addition to our global original films initiative.”

The film’s producer, Alan Moloney, spoke briefly about bringing a new film to Netflix saying: “As filmmakers, we are constantly looking for new ways to bring a movie to the largest possible audience. Netflix has already reinvented the TV market and is now moving front and center into the film business.”

As The Hollywood Reporter notes, the acquisition of “Jadotville” is only the latest in a recent string of plans to bring more original scripted films to Netflix, which has had success with TV shows like “House of Cards” and “Orange is the New Black.” Netflix recently revealed it will make a sequel to “Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon.” Previously, the company announced a four movie deal with Adam Sandler and the Duplass brothers.