James Bond producers are working on an Edward Snowden movie

Perhaps the biggest story of the last year has been former NSA contractor Edward Snowden releasing documents showing the extent of the US government’s massive internet surveillance program — unsurprisingly, that story is now headed for the big screen. Sony Pictures has just announced that it purchased the right to journalist Glenn Grenwald’s new book No Place to Hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA, and the US Surveillance State and plans to turn it into a film; James Bond producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli are attached to the new project.

Greenwald, the journalist who was primarily responsible for working with Snowden to release the confidential NSA information, released his book yesterday. it recounts how Greenwald began working with Snowden, the release of the NSA’s documents, a discussion of the state of surveillance, and the implications of some new documents released only in the book. “Growing up, I was heavily influenced by political films, and am excited about the opportunity to be part of a political film that will resonate with today’s moviegoers,” Greenwald said in a statement.

We’re a ways off from knowing when a movie may make it to theaters, but a Snowden / Greenwald film makes sense for Sony — the entertainment company has found success with non-fiction stories lately, including The Social Network and an upcoming Steve Jobs biopic based on Walter Isaacson’s biography. Certainly, the story of how Snowden and Greenwald shook the NSA to its core is rife with possibilities for a film — we’re just hoping it ends up being a more compelling tale than the Wikileaks film The Fifth Estate