George Clooney To Direct And Star In Limited Series ‘Catch-22’ On Hulu
George Clooney is doing something that he hasn’t done in 18 years. He’s heading back to television. Hulu confirmed that they picked up Clooney’s latest project, a high-profile television adaption of the 1961 classic novel Catch-22. Clooney will play Colonel Cathcart in the 6-part miniseries based on the book written by Joseph Heller. He will be directing the series as well.
Catch-22 is set in Italy during World War II. The satirical story is about a U.S. Air Force bombardier named Yossarian who wants to stop running missions with the military. The title comes from the dilemma of trying to get out of the service. One can be relieved of their missions if they are proven to be insane. However, those who request to be relieved of duty due to the danger involved are then deemed sane — a true Catch-22.
According to Deadline, the reason for making Catch-22 into a mini-series was simple. Having already been adapted into a film back in 1970, production company Anonymous Content’s Richard Brown felt that the story needed more time than that of a feature film and wanted to turn the novel into a limited series, giving much more time for details from the book that didn’t make it into the previous film.
Hulu confirms that it has landed George Clooney’s TV return in the six-episode limited series based on #Catch22. Here’s the backstory on how the series came together: https://t.co/b8r3FLyRBQ #TCA18 pic.twitter.com/WDcs7pbQgm
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) January 14, 2018
It turns out that George Clooney is a big fan of the novel. So when it was learned that the original director, David Michod, wouldn’t be able to complete the project, the former ER star was the first choice. Clooney signed on to direct the film. He will also star as Colonel Cathcart in the adaptation, a role that was played by Martin Balsam in the film.
Filming for Catch-22 is expected to start soon, with reports saying early this year. This is great news considering that Hulu only confirmed that the deal was made for Catch-22 on Sunday.
News of this latest series headed for Hulu comes on the heels of an announcement that the streaming service is also picking up old episodes of George Clooney’s first television series, ER. Hulu also announced the premiere of Season 2 of The Handmaid’s Tale on April 25 as well as Season 4 of Casual, which will debut on July 31.
