All The British Men Are Starring In Sam Mendes' World War I Drama '1917'

Make way for British Men: The Movie. No, that's not actually the name of this new movie, but it may as well be judging by the sheer amount of pale white skin and sharp cheekbones that its cast shares. The film is Sam Mendes' latest effort, a World War I drama titled 1917, which takes place on a single day at the height of the Great War. The 1917 cast has just added British heartthrobs young and old to its numbers, including Colin Firth, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Richard Madden.

The Wrap reports that Firth, Cumberbatch, and Madden have joined the cast of 1917, which Mendes is set to direct and co-write with Krysty Wilson-Cairns. Additional cast members include Andrew Scott, Daniel Mays, Adrian Scarborough, Jamie Parker, Nabhaan Rizwan and Claire Duburcq, who are joining George MacKay and Dean-Charles Chapman.

The details on this film are sparse, but The Wrap reports that the film "follows two young British soldiers on a single day at the height of World War I." Judging by Firth and Cumberbatch's ages, and Madden's silver streaks in his beard, it's unlikely the three big-name stars will play those two British soldiers, but we can probably expect them to play superior officers of some sort. I wouldn't be surprised if Mendes went with two unknown stars to play the lead roles, much like Christopher Nolan did with his 2017 war drama Dunkirk.

This will be Mendes' first period drama in more than a decade, following 2008's Revolutionary Road. It's also much different from his time spent making best James Bond film (Skyfall) and one of the more forgettable ones (Spectre). But while Sam Mendes' name and the star-studded cast piques my interest, I'm not sure if 1917's sparse summary is enough to pull me to the theater. The one-day premise is interesting, but war dramas have become such a well-worn trope at this point that it takes an envelope-pushing film like Dunkirk to shake the Oscar-baiting genre out of its stupor. We'll see if Mendes can accomplish that.

1917 goes into production on April 1 in England and Scotland. Mendes also produces the film with Pippa Harris at Neal Street Productions, and Jayne-Ann Tenggren and Callum McDougall, while Michael Lerman is co-producing.