Wolfgang Petersen, Director of 'The Perfect Storm,' 'Outbreak' and 'Air Force One,' Dead at 81

Mar. 15, 2025

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Wolfgang Petersen, the director behind films likeOutbreakandAir Force One, has died. He was 81.

The German filmmaker, who received two Oscar nominations for writing and directing 1981’s World War II epicDas Boot, died peacefully on Friday at his Brentwood residence from pancreatic cancer, in the arms of his wife of 50 years, Maria Antoinette, his rep confirmed to PEOPLE.

After finding global acclaim forDas Boot, Petersen made the leap to Hollywood, going on to work with stars likeGeorge Clooney,Brad Pitt,Glenn Close,Harrison FordandMorgan Freeman, to name a few.

He directed 1984’sThe NeverEnding Story, 1993’sIn the Line of Fire, 1995’sOutbreak, 1997’sAir Force One, 2000’sThe Perfect Storm,2004’sTroyand the 2006Poseidonremake with Kurt Russell and Richard Dreyfuss.

Close, 75, remembered working with Petersen onAir Force Oneas a “special memory.”

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Looking back on his career during a 2016 interview withGerman outlet DW, Petersen admitted he “probably should not have done"Poseidon.

“I was on a roll at that time.In the Line of Fire, Outbreak, Air Force One, Perfect Storm, Troy— I did all these films in a row, and each one was more successful than the one before. Five in a row,” he said at the time. “So they said, ‘Wolfgang can do anything. Just give him all the money, we’ll be fine.’ But it wasn’t. I shouldn’t have done it, because it just doesn’t work like that. At some point you fail. … I haven’t told anybody that before.”

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Petersen added that he was “very proud” ofPerfect Storm, which had a cast that included Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, John C. Reilly and Diane Lane.

“That was a concept that was very difficult to get through the studio system because it was very expensive. It was the biggest storm ever shown. And the story— I mean six guys on the Andrea Gail boat, who, at the end, as we all know, die,” he said. “We got a lot of calls from people who said, ‘Wolfgang, don’t be crazy. This can’t work. This is a summer movie, a $150-million movie. And they all die at the end? Are you nuts? Can you at least have one, like Mark Wahlberg, survive at the end?’ But we did it.”

source: people.com