Cillian Murphy will star in Blood Runs Coal, a Universal adaptation of a true crime story. Murphy and Alan Moloney will produce through Big Things Films.
Cillian Murphy and Alan Moloney will produce a film adaptation of the Mark A. Bradley book Blood Runs Coal: The Yablonski Murders and the Battle for the United Mine Workers of America, with Murphy set to star as Chip Yablonski. Universal acquired the rights to the book two days before Murphy’s Oscar win.
Blood Runs Coal takes place in the late 1960s in the coal mines of Pennsylvania and follows Chip Yablonski (Murphy).
Second-generation coal miner Jock Yablonski, father of Chip, was an activist in the United Mine Workers union after his father was killed in a mine explosion. He campaigned for safety, better working conditions and health benefits as many around him were affected by black lung and other respiratory conditions, as well as other preventable accidents in the mines.
Following a contentious election campaign that saw Jock face off against Tony Boyle, a union president who spent union funds on his own election campaign, Jock and most of his family were murdered under suspicious circumstances. A labor attorney, Chip Yablonski made it his life mission to get justice for his family.
Jez Butterworth (Spectre, Ford v Ferrari) will write the script with John-Henry Butterworth (Get On Up, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny), the screenwriting duo have previously collaborated on Edge of Tomorrow. John Davis and Jordan Davis will produce through Davis Entertainment, and Murphy and Moloney will produce through Big Things Films.
