“The Hurt Locker” duo Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal were working on a film about the failed hunt for Osama bin Laden, but scrapped the idea and quickly developed “Zero Dark Thirty” after he was killed. Moving forward with the original idea was “virtually impossible when the entire world knew he was dead,” Oscar-winning director Bigelow said at a panel at Regal E-Walk Cinema Monday. Boal, who retooled the script in three months to focus on the killing of the al Qaeda leader, explained, “We were trying to do this in a timely way so the film could hopefully be part of the historic conversation.” It sparked controversy while shooting in India, where right-wing Hindus protested at having their land mimic Pakistan. “There was a very small, I would say, protest staged for the press that kind of got magnified in the news,” Bigelow said, noting they “met with the minister of culture constantly and were very sensitive on handling this movie.” Jessica Chastain, who plays a CIA agent central to bin Laden’s takedown, explained her interest in the role. “[My character] isn’t protected or mentored by men, nor is she a victim,” she said. “She’s not struggling from neurosis, she has no issues, she’s just a hero. She’s capable, intelligent and she can stand on her own. I think it’s a great representation of this generation of women.”