Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are heading back into the documentary and drama space with a new Netflix project tied directly to Harry’s military past. The couple’s production company, Archewell, is developing a feature film adaptation of No Way Out, a nonfiction account centered on British troops fighting through intense Taliban attacks during the war in Afghanistan.
According to the BBC, the film will be based on the 2019 book of the same name by Major Adam Jowett, who led soldiers defending a military compound in Musa Qala, Helmand Province, in 2006. Harry and Meghan will serve as co-producers on the project, which is being made for Netflix under the couple’s existing first-look arrangement with the streamer. Screenwriter Matt Charman, who earned an Oscar nomination for Bridge of Spies, is attached to adapt the story.
The subject matter connects closely to Harry’s own military history. Before stepping away from royal duties, the Duke of Sussex spent a decade serving in the British Army and completed two operational tours in Afghanistan.
During his first deployment in 2007 and 2008, he worked as a Forward Air Controller, helping coordinate airstrikes in Helmand Province, before his assignment was cut short when details of his location leaked publicly.
Years later, he returned to Afghanistan as an Apache helicopter co-pilot and gunner with the Army Air Corps.
Harry later discussed aspects of that experience in his memoir Spare, in which he revealed that he recorded 25 confirmed kills during combat operations. Writing about the realities of warfare, he explained that soldiers often view enemy combatants “as chess pieces removed from the board” in the middle of battle rather than as individuals.
Military service and veteran advocacy have remained central themes in Harry’s public work since leaving active duty in 2015. He later founded the Invictus Games, which supports wounded and injured service members from around the world.
The upcoming film about Afghanistan adds to the Sussexes’ growing slate of Netflix productions. Their previous projects include the record-setting documentary series Harry & Meghan, Heart of Invictus, and the polo-focused series Polo.
