Adam McKay Gets ‘The Big Short’ Crew Back Together For a Movie About Dick Cheney

Before he goes behind the camera for Bad Blood with Jennifer Lawrence, Adam McKay is squeezing in a political drama about…Dick Cheney. That’s somewhat topical, given that Vice President-elect Mike Pence has cited the former Vice President as an inspiration, and soon, thanks to good ol’ fashioned movie magic, we can see why. (Or, you know, you can just Google some old news articles, but McKay’s way sounds a little more entertaining.)

Deadline reports that McKay has recently completed a script for an untitled biopic about Dick Cheney, who parlayed his successful executive position at Halliburton into a career as Vice President under former President George W. Bush. McKay and Will Ferrell will produce the project via Gary Sanchez Productions, re-teaming with Brad Pitt’s Plan B banner following their collaboration on The Big Short — that film went on to earn five Oscar nominations, with McKay and co-writer Charles Randolph picking up the award for Best Screenplay for their work adapting Michael Lewis’ book.

As to why McKay chose Cheney, the director had this to say:

I’ve always found Cheney fascinating. Questions of what drove him, what his beliefs were; but once we started digging I was astounded at how much he had shaped modern America’s place in the world and how shocking the methods were by which he gained his power.

McKay has reportedly begun sending the screenplay out to potential actors, as he’s eyeing a late 2017 release — just in time for next year’s awards season. Paramount will distribute the untitled Cheney film, which is looking to begin filming relatively soon.