People have been wondering for quite some time which project director Christopher Nolan would pick up next. After keeping things on a hush and much speculation, the news is Nolan’s next will be a World War II film called Dunkirk.
Nolan has also written the screenplay for the war action/adventure film, casting Kenneth Branagh, Mark Rylance and Tom Hardy in the process. The film is set during the 1940 evacuation of France, which is a very significant time during the war. It is expected that Nolan will be shooting the film on a combination of IMAX 65mm and 65mm large format film photography. We are all aware of Nolan favouring the IMAX format.
Shooting is scheduled to begin in May of 2016, while he and his longtime producing partner and wife Emma Thomas will produce the film. The story of his new project leaked from the French newspapers, stating that he and his screenwriting brother Jonathan Nolan had been scouting locations in Dunkirk. The French city of Dunkirk is where the story will centre around, during the evacuation of 300,000 Allied troops, who were surrounded by the German army.
This is a totally new game for Nolan, which can really help display his versatility as a director. We’ve seen his brilliance through The Dark Knight (the entire Dark Knight trilogy), Inception and Interstellar, but to take on a film based on true events will really test his skills as a storyteller. His cast will definitely help him along the way. Even though the entire cast has yet to be confirmed, those already linked to the film will create the world Nolan is imagining.
Kenneth Branagh recently directed Disney’s hit Cinderella and is set to direct and star in Murder on the Orient Express. Mark Rylance was seen recently in Steven Spielberg’s Bridge of Spies, receiving both a Golden Globe and SAG nomination for his performances. And Tom Hardy can also be found in Legend, followed by a fantastic performance, alongside Leonardo DiCaprio, in The Revenant. It’s safe to say these men are in good hands and we look forward to another Nolan blockbuster.