EXCLUSIVE: Shankly, a feature depicting the life of legendary Liverpool manager Bill Shankly, is in the works from UK producers MetFilm and screenwriter Arash Amel.
Set in post-war Liverpool, Shankly will show the fiery Scottish football manager with socialist ideals, who transforms the broken city and revolutionises the modern game.
Shankly was Liverpool manager from 1959 to 1974, winning three First Division titles (at that time the highest league in the country), two FA Cups and the 1973 UEFA Cup. His tenure is widely regarded as having set Liverpool up as a dominant force in English and European football. He died in 1981, aged 68.
The film will be produced by …
EXCLUSIVE: Shankly, a feature depicting the life of legendary Liverpool manager Bill Shankly, is in the works from UK producers MetFilm and screenwriter Arash Amel.
Set in post-war Liverpool, Shankly will show the fiery Scottish football manager with socialist ideals, who transforms the broken city and revolutionises the modern game.
Shankly was Liverpool manager from 1959 to 1974, winning three First Division titles (at that time the highest league in the country), two FA Cups and the 1973 UEFA Cup. His tenure is widely regarded as having set Liverpool up as a dominant force in English and European football. He died in 1981, aged 68.
The film will be produced by Jonny Persey, Stewart le Marechal, and Anna Mohr-Pietsch for MetFilm, alongside Amel for his US firm The Amel Company, with le Marechal overseeing production.
It will be made in partnership with the Shankly family estate, and will draw from private letters, personal diaries, family archives, and previously unreleased interviews.
“As a lifelong Liverpool fan with family from the city, Bill Shankly’s legacy has been a guiding light for me since childhood,” said Amel, who has previously written films including 2014’s Grace Of Monaco, Matthew Heineman’s 2018 A Private War, and last year’s Guy Ritchie title The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare. “His belief in unity, selflessness, and the dignity of the working class shaped not only a team but an entire way of life. His words and values have followed me across three continents, and to tell his authentic story now, of leadership, community, courage, and football as a force of belonging that cuts across cultures and ethnicities, feels like a dream fulfilled.”
“Bill Shankly shaped a way of being for football and for Liverpool, his thinking and innovation is transformational in leadership and management, and his story is both important and inspiring,” said a statement from Persey and le Marechal.
“Arash truly understands the family’s journey, having drawn deeply from conversations with our mum Jeanette — our grandad’s daughter, and the closest link to his memory — and we’re proud to be part of telling that story,” said Chris Shankly, Bill’s grandson.
MetFilm Production’s recent titles include UK indie feature *Lady *starring Sian Clifford, and docudrama series The Enfield Poltergeist for Apple TV+. The company works alongside sister brands MetFilm Sales and MetFilm Distribution as part of MetFilm Studio.