Casey Affleck has stayed true to his roots with previous films Good Will Hunting, Gone Baby Gone and the currently shooting Finest Hours. He looks to continue his hometown pride by signing on to star in Boston Strong, based on the book of the same name by Casey Sherman and Dave Wedge about the Boston Marathon bombings and subsequent manhunt.

I recall being on the set of David O. Russell’s American Hustle that was filming in nearby Worcester, MA when the bombs went off. It was a weird time and filming ended prematurely for fear that there could be further attacks. It was a confusing day, there were unconfirmed reports of an explosion at the JFK library. The subsequent days were unnerving as the ensuing manhunt continued, culminating with a shocking high speed pursuit and firefight.

Obviously, it didn’t take Hollywood very long to pursue the story.The Fighter writers Eric Johnson and Paul Tamasy optioned the rights to the novel in July 2013 and EOne Television signed on to develop it as a TV series in April of this year before bowing out earlier this summer.

Boston Strong will be produced by Affleck and his partner, John Ridley, and Dorothy Aufiero.

Affleck will next be seen in Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar opening on November 7th.