William Friedkin's Final Film, The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, Hits Paramount+ In October

Legendary filmmaker William Friedkin is sadly no longer with us, but audiences across the globe can expect to watch his very last writing/directing effort in just a few weeks. /Film previously reported that Friedkin's next and last project would be "The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial," based on writer Herman Wouk's 1952 book (which he later turned into a stage play) and the second major adaptation of the story on the big screen following the Humphrey Bogart-starring film in 1954. Scheduled to premiere at this year's Venice Film Festival, Paramount has just announced that the film will be made available on Paramount+ streaming in October — for those subscribed to the platform's Showtime plan, that is — before making its linear debut on Showtime proper a few days later.

For those unfamiliar with the story, "The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial" is centered on a naval court-martial case involving a mutiny at sea. An ambitious first officer forcibly takes control of the ship, the USS Caine, from its unpredictable captain in the midst of an intense storm close to enemy territory. But what at first seems like a straightforward case of mutiny eventually transforms into a more complicated philosophical debate over whether the sailors were acting in the best interests of the crew. Add in the involvement of Friedkin (who completed the picture prior to his death earlier this August) and its impressively stacked cast, and it's obvious why the studio is rolling out the red carpet treatment for the film.

Mark your calendars for Friday, October 6, 2023. That's when "The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial" will make its way to Paramount+ streaming with Showtime. For those who prefer to see the film through more conventional means, it will then make its Showtime debut on Sunday, October 8, at 9pm ET/6pm PT. The Paramount+ release applies to international territories such as the UK, Canada, Latin America, the Caribbean, Australia, France, Italy, Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and South Korea.

As if anyone needed even more reason to tune in, "The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial" boasts a pretty formidable cast of character actors. Fresh off his lively and energetic turn in Christopher Nolan's "Oppenheimer," Jason Clarke stars as the navel lawyer, Barney Greenwald, tasked with defending Lt. Steve Maryk, the first officer charged with mutiny. Maryk is portrayed by "White Lotus" actor Jake Lacy and will be joined by "24" star Kiefer Sutherland as Lt. Philip Francis Queeg, the beleaguered captain of the vessel, along with Monica Raymund, Lewis Pullman, Jay Duplass, and Tom Riley. In another bittersweet twist, the film will also feature the late Lance Reddick in one of his last-ever roles.

At the start of a naval court-martial, Barney Greenwald (Clarke), a skeptical naval lawyer, reluctantly agrees to defend Lt. Steve Maryk (Lacy), a first officer of the Navy who took control of the U.S.S. CAINE from its domineering captain Lt. Philip Francis Queeg (Sutherland) during a violent sea storm in unfriendly waters. As the trial progresses, Greenwald becomes increasingly concerned and questions if the events aboard the Caine were a true mutiny or simply the courageous acts of a group of sailors who did not trust their unstable leader.