American Sniper poster starring Bradley Cooper directed by Clint Eastwood.
Iraqi Sniper, a new film by Egyptian filmmaker Amr Salama, plans to tell “the other side of the story” in response to Clint Eastwood’s 2014 film American Sniper.
While Eastwood’s film focused on Chris “The Legend” Kyle, Salama’s film will follow the story of Mustafa, the mysterious Iraqi sniper who was a primary antagonist in American Sniper. Sammy Sheik, the actor who played Mustafa in American Sniper, has agreed to reprise his role making a solid connection between the two films.
Salama first had the idea for his film after seeing American Sniper. “I hated it. That was my inspiration – I hated it so much that I wanted to work on a different version of that story,” he said according to Telesur. “I’m trying to make an anti-war film… American Sniper was pro-war.”
Eastwood’s film was adapted from the book American Sniper written by Kyle himself shortly before his death. Kyle was a Navy Seal sniper who served four tours during the Iraq War. He was awarded multiple commendations for “acts of heroism and meritorious service in combat” including one Silver Star, four Bronze Stars with Valor, and a Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal. Kyle holds the highest number of confirmed kills of any sniper in United States history. In 2013 he was murdered by Eddie Ray Routh, a Marine suffering from PTSD.
Mustafa was a mysterious insurgent believed to be a former Olympian shooter from Syria. He was responsible for killing scores of Iraqi police officers, soldiers, and American troops. Kyle wrote the following about Mustafa, “From the reports we heard, Mustafa was an Olympics marksman who was using his skills against Americans and Iraqi police and soldiers. Several videos had been made and posted, boasting of his ability. I never saw him, but other snipers later killed an Iraqi sniper we think was him.”
American Sniper grossed $350 million in the United States Box office. Iraqi Sniper, the current working title subject to change, is still in pre-production.