Nearly 16 years ago, the nation was taken by shock, heartbreak and unyielding disillusionment in regard to the historical bombing of Oklahoma City’s Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building.

The tragedy — perpetuated by Timothy McVeigh and co-conspirator Terry Nichols, who claimed the lives of 168 American citizens — was a disturbing event that continues to affect the lives of the families involved as well as the state at large.

In fact, before the attacks on the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, the Oklahoma City bombing was hailed as the most devastating act of terrorism ever committed on U.S. soil.

Now, post-9/11, the horrific event has been curiously muted, at least from a cinematic perspective.Even the 9/11 attacks have inspired two Hollywood films: Paul Greengrass’ “United 93” and Oliver Stone’s “World Trade Center,” both released in 2006.

However, with the release of many disaster films over the last several years — including Roland Emmerich’s “The Day After Tomorrow” (2004) and “2012” (2009) — Hollywood appears to be more interested in capitalizing on the world’s fears of the effects of global warming or some kind of viral or religious apocalypse.

Well, all that is about to change. Just a few weeks ago, Deadline.com publicized the decision of Academy Award-winning filmmaker Barry Levinson (“Good Morning, Vietnam,” “Rain Man”) to direct the indie-drama tentatively titled “O.K.C.”

Levinson, well known for his Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning HBO film “You Don’t Know Jack,” will be collaborating with first-time screenwriter Clay Wold.

Wold’s brother Chad was a young legal clerk on McVeigh’s defense team, which was driven to prove a conspiracy led to McVeigh’s demise.

The film, which goes into production this year, will chronicle the extraordinary circumstances leading up to the Oklahoma City bombing and the factual account of Wold’s brother, who fought to unlock the secrets behind the traumatic incident.

While the film is not yet cast, it will be produced and financed by Peter Safran of Safran Co., whose recent release of the Ryan Reynolds thriller “Buried” (2010) was a surprising critical success.

Of the many theories about McVeigh’s background, including his involvement with a right-wing white supremacist group or having Middle Eastern connections, it is unknown at this point what aspects of McVeigh’s life the filmmakers aim to explore.

Whether their intent is to humanize McVeigh, suggesting his decisions were motivated by societal, governmental and foreign pressures, has not yet been revealed.

However, the prospect of a feature film providing a release and revealing unanswered questions is nothing short of intriguing.

It’s safe to argue potential viewers of the film will collectively trust the filmmakers will not exploit or undermine the pain and suffering of the historic event.

As it stands today, Oklahoma natives can feel honored a famous Hollywood director has agreed to film an event in our local history that, figuratively speaking, hits home.