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Movies Based on True Stories 2018

15 Upcoming Movies Based on True Stories

There's a reason for the saying, "the truth is stranger than fiction." With that in mind, we're excited that 2018 will see a smorgasbord of true stories coming to life on the big screen. Things kick off with a film that reveals the United States' involvement in the Vietnam War via the Pentagon Papers. Nearly a year later, we get Bohemian Rhapsody, the biopic of Freddie Mercury (Rami Malek) during the formation of iconic 1970s band Queen. There are a whole bunch of great true-story movies in between!

Image Source: 20th Century Studios

1. 12 Strong

After 9/11, a CIA special forces team called Task Force Dagger was sent to Afghanistan to fight the Taliban — this is their story. It stars Chris Hemsworth (along with his real-life wife, Elsa Pataky), Michael Shannon, Michael Peña, and Rob Riggle.

Release date: Jan. 19

Image Source: Warner Bros. Pictures

2. Blaze

Directed by Ethan Hawke, this biopic is about the life and death of country music artist Blaze Foley, whose 1989 murder case went to trial. The perpetrator and Blaze's father told completely different versions of what happened. It stars Ben Dickey, Alia Shawkat, Sam Rockwell, Steve Zahn, and Kris Kristofferson.

Release date: January 2018 at Sundance, wide release TBA

Image Source: Getty / Venturelli

3. The Catcher Was a Spy

Paul Rudd stars as Moe Berg, a major league catcher who joins the Office of Strategic Services as a spy to help bring down the Axis powers during World War II.

Release date: January 2018 at Sundance, wide release TBA

Image Source: Getty / Bruce Glikas

4. The 15:17 to Paris

This Clint Eastwood-directed drama is about the three Americans who thwarted a terrorist attack on a train bound for Paris in August 2015. It stars the three men — Spencer Stone, Anthony Sadler, and Alek Skarlatos — playing themselves, alongside Judy Greer, Jenna Fischer, and Tony Hale.

Release date: Feb. 9

Image Source: Getty / Mike Windle

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5. Chappaquiddick

In July 1969, then-Senator Ted Kennedy drove his car into a channel off Chappaquiddick Island. His companion, Mary Jo Kopechne, was trapped inside and drowned, while he fled the scene and didn't report the accident for 10 hours. Kennedy always claimed it was an accident, that he was not drunk at the time, and that he and Kopechne were not sexually involved. This dramatization of the incident stars Jason Clarke as Kennedy, Kate Mara as Kopechne, and Bruce Dern as Joseph P. Kennedy Sr.

Release date: Apr. 6

Image Source: Getty / Steve Zak Photography

6. Tag

A group of friends have been playing tag with each other for over two decades. The game has evolved into a no-holds-barred, nationwide activity that takes place every year in February. Whoever is "it" from the previous year will try to "tag" one of the other players, sometimes travelling cross-country to do so. Whoever is "it" at month's end is "it" when next year begins. The human interest story was first published by The Wall Street Journal and is now a film starring Ed Helms, Jeremy Renner, Hannibal Buress, Jake Johnson, Jon Hamm, Isla Fisher, and Rashida Jones.

Release date: Jun. 15

Image Source: Getty / Taylor Hill

7. Fighting With My Family

Based on the life of WWE wrestler Paige (real name: Saraya-Jade Bevis), this comedy chronicles her rise to stardom in professional wrestling. It stars Florence Pugh as Paige, with Lena Headey, Nick Frost, and Jack Lowden playing her family. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson stars as himself, and Vince Vaughn has been cast as Jake "The Snake" Roberts.

Release date: Sept. 14

Image Source: Getty / John Phillips

8. Boy Erased

This drama, based on the 2016 memoir of the same name, is about the gay son of a Baptist preacher who is sent to a conversion therapy program. It stars Lucas Hedges, Russell Crowe, Nicole Kidman, Joel Edgerton, and Cherry Jones.

Release date: Sept. 28

Image Source: Getty / Rob Kim

9. First Man

This true story about NASA's mission to land on the moon focuses on Neil Armstrong and the 1960s space race. Ryan Gosling plays Armstrong alongside Claire Foy as his wife, Corey Stoll as Buzz Aldrin, Kyle Chandler as Deke Slayton, Jason Clarke as Ed White, and Shea Whigham as Gus Grissom.

Release date: Oct. 12

Image Source: Getty / David M. Benett

10. Mary Queen of Scots

Saoirse Ronan stars as the titular Scottish monarch, flanked by Margot Robbie as her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I, David Tennant as cleric John Knox, and Jack Lowden as Lord Darnley, Mary's second husband (whose death she was suspected to have ordered to escape the marriage).

Release date: Dec. 7

Image Source: Getty / Roy Rochlin

11. The Women of Marwen

This fantasy drama is inspired by a true story in an unusual way. After being severely beaten in an attack, photographer Mark Hogancamp suffered brain damage that left very little memory of his life up to that point. As a way of coping, he creates a 1/6 scale WWII-era Belgian town and populates it with dolls. The town is called Marwencol. This 2018 film will bring that town to life. It stars Steve Carell as Hogancamp, with the titular women being played by Leslie Mann, Diane Kruger, Janelle Monae ,and Eiza González. Gwendoline Christie plays Hogancamp's caretaker and Merritt Wever plays a local store owner who supplies Hogancamp with all his models and toy figurines.

Release date: Nov. 21

Image Source: Getty / David Livingston

12. Bohemian Rhapsody

Mr. Robot Emmy winner Rami Malek stars as Freddie Mercury, lead singer of Queen, in this biopic about the formation of the famous band. Game of Thrones star Aidan Gillen stars as the band's first manager and Downton Abbey star Allen Leech plays Mercury's personal manager.

Release date: Nov. 2

Image Source: 20th Century Studios

13. Hotel Mumbai

Based on the 2008 attacks on the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in India, this upcoming thriller stars Dev Patel, Armie Hammer, Nazanin Boniadi, and Jason Isaacs.

Release date: 2018

Image Source: Getty / Jason LaVeris

14. My Dinner With Hervé

This upcoming HBO film stars Peter Dinklage as Herve Villechaize, the actor who played Tattoo on Fantasy Island. Villechaize took his own life in 1993, leaving a suicide note that cited depression over health problems as his reason for doing so. Andy Garcia costars as Ricardo Montalban, Jamie Dornan plays Danny Tate, and Mireille Enos plays Villechaize's longtime girlfriend, Kathy Self.

Release date: 2018

Image Source: Getty / Mike Marsland

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