The brand-new Chris Hemsworth film, 12 Strong, is currently in select theaters, with an impending release into wide release later this month. It tells the tale of a U.S. Special Forces team, and their dangerous mission in the wake of 9/11.

Of course, it’s not uncommon for military operations to be the subject of a film, and this story, in particular, was declassified. However, with any story like this, there is always some fear of retaliation in some form, and with that in mind, did they feel the need to redact the names of the characters, or change the nature of the mission in order to protect some core aspects?

Speaking at a recent press conference LRM had the opportunity to attend, author of the book on which the film is based, Doug Stanton, spoke to that, saying:

“Yes, when I was composing the book — I started in 2003, just shortly after the action of the mission — the guys asked me to provide pseudonyms. So sometimes you’ll see that in the book. Fast forward to 2011. We’re walking down Fifth Avenue with the same cohort of soldiers behind the Horse Soldiers statue and its dedication. So the world has changed in that regard.”

The end result in the film is one where the core concept is retained, and everyone knows which character is based on which real-life entity. So there’s no real secrecy surrounding the mission at this point, but it seems to be based on the fact that north of 15 years has passed. As Stanton stated above, times have changed, and the world has moved on, so there’s no real urgency to protect.

12 Strong is in select theaters now, with a wide release coming on January 19, 2018!

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