The story of the last months of Saddam Hussein’s life is to be told via a feature film from Fremantle and Sinestra.

The Prisoner in His Palace is one of the first projects to emerge from the first-look deal between Fremantle and Sinestra, the latter of which was launched late last year by Chernobyl director Johan Renck and Netflix’s upcoming Spaceman producer Michael Parets.

Based on Will Bardenwerper’s The Prisoner in His Palace: Saddam Hussein, His American Guards, and What History Leaves Unsaid, the movie tells the story of the last months of the former Iraqi dictator’s life, in an account from a dozen U.S. soldiers who were guarding him.

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The book was woven from multiple first-hand accounts and explores the two very different Husseins coexisting in one person: the defiant tyrant who uses torture and murder as tools, and a shrewd but contemplative prisoner who exhibits surprising affection, dignity, and courage in the face of looming death.

Parets and Renck will produce, Renck will direct, Darby Kealey will write and Bardenwerper is set to EP. The book is is co-represented by Zoë Pagnamenta and Anonymous Content.  

“Will Bardenwerper astonished us with his fearless examination of the paradox that was Saddam Hussein,” said Parets. “While not shying away from the profound cruelty of Saddam’s reign, Will ushers us into unsettling intimacy with the perplexingly real human being behind the sceptre.”

Sinestra launched in late 2022 and is also producing a TV version of Nathan Newman’s How to Leave the House with Richard Brown’s Fremantle-backed Passenger.

The project is the latest big-budget offering backed by Fremantle. Earlier this month, it was revealed to be behind a TV series about Carlos Ghosn, which stars Tony Shalhoub and is being made with Anonymous Content and Michael Winterbottom.

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