Skydance Sports Developing Feature Film Adaptation of WWII Navy Commando Book ‘Scouts and Raiders,’ Deadline Reports

Skydance Sports is developing a feature film adaptation of Scouts and Raiders: The Navy’s First Special Warfare Commandos, a 1993 non-fiction book by John B. Dwyer, Deadline reported on June 18, 2026. The company’s project is positioned as an account of the real-world origins of a World War II commando unit associated with the Navy’s first special warfare commandos, according to the report’s description of the book’s scope.

Deadline said the adaptation is being developed by Mark Perez, known for Game Night, and Jason Filardi, known for Chapelwaite. Both were identified as being aboard to adapt the book for film, with the report describing their roles as part of the development team rather than announcing any final casting, production start date, or studio production timeline.

Scouts and Raiders is described in the report as a true-origin story of the WWII commando unit. The book is credited to Dwyer, and it is characterized as non-fiction, meaning the adaptation will be tied to a source work presented as factual rather than a purely fictionalized retelling, Deadline said.

The report does not provide further specifics on how the film will handle the book’s historical material, including which chapters will be emphasized or how the narrative structure will be shaped for feature-length storytelling. It also does not include details on whether the project will be produced as a theatrical release or a streaming-first title.

Skydance Sports’ involvement places the project in a slate area focused on entertainment properties tied to the company’s broader media and production activities. Deadline’s account indicates the project remains in development, meaning the adaptation has not yet been confirmed with a fully announced creative package beyond the attached writers, and it has not yet reached a stage where production schedules and release windows are public.

For audiences, the announcement indicates that a long-running non-fiction work about U.S. Navy special warfare origins is moving into contemporary screen development. For rights holders and publishing stakeholders, adaptations like this typically involve licensing the underlying book and coordinating with the authors or their representatives, although Deadline did not name the specific rights parties or the terms of the licensing agreement.

As of June 18, 2026, no additional cast, director, studio production date, or distribution partner was named in the Deadline report. The next publicly visible steps would likely include formalizing the film’s creative team beyond the attached writers, and determining production logistics once development clears the internal and external approvals that govern financing and scheduling.