Tommy Lee Jones has the grizzled look of a military commander (and played just such a part in last summer’s “Captain America: The First Avenger”), and now he’ll play one of history’s most famous military commanders — General Douglas MacArthur — in Peter Webber’s upcoming WWII drama “Emperor.”
The film takes place in Japan in the weeks immediately following the end of WWII, where MacArthur effectively ruled the country as it transitioned to a new government while being occupied by the U.S. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Matthew Fox (“Lost”) has also signed on to play Gen. Bonner Fellers, an expert on Japan who butts heads with MacArthur when he must decide whether or not the Japanese Emperor Hirohito should be tried for war crimes.
Webber previously directed “The Girl With the Pearl Earring” and “Hannibal Rising.”
Before he suits up for “Emeror,” Jones will be reunited with Will Smith in this summer’s “Men in Black III.”