The Coen brothers are working on a film about the dark net, chronicling the true story of the digital drugs marketplace Silk Road, and its kingpin, Ross William Ulbricht.
A cybercrime thriller named Dark Web, the film will explore Ulbricht’s time working under the pseudonym Dread Pirate Roberts as he built his empire. As The Hollywood Reporter relates, the screenplay will be based on a Wired magazine article from 2015 about Ulbricht. The 32-year-old is currently serving a life sentence with no chance of parole, after he was convicted in February 2015 for money laundering, conspiracy to traffic fraudulent identity documents, computer hacking and conspiracy to traffic narcotics.
The venture was initially titled Silk Road, and was first floated as an idea back in 2013 when author Dennis Lehane attempted the original screenplay.
Silk Road was a marketplace for illegal transactions, with most centred on illicit drugs. At the time of its closure, it was processing around $15 million in purchases annually. Initially shut in 2013, the cryptomarket reappeared again before going offline for good in November 2014, and the FBI zoned in on Ulbricht.
The Coen brothers wrote the recent films Hail, Caesar! and Unbroken, as well as the forthcoming Suburbicon.
No director for the project has been announced as of yet.
