Official Dunkirk Synopsis And Set Photos Promise Something Massive

Nolan's next project will see impossible odds.

By Simon Gallagher /

Warner Bros.

Having reinvigorated the superhero genre with the Dark Knight trilogy and then surprised and delighted with Interstellar, Christopher Nolan's next step will see him step back to one of the most important moments in World War II.

Advertisement

Dunkirk will focus on the pivotal events revolving around the evacuation of the French city of the same name, and the incredible effort to get more than 300,000 troops (British, French, Belgian and Dutch) across the Channel under incredible pressure from the advancing Germans.

The film's official synopsis has now been revealed:

Advertisement
Dunkirk opens as hundreds of thousands of British and Allied troops are surrounded by enemy forces. Trapped on the beach with their backs to the sea they face an impossible situation as the enemy closes in.

The cast, inevitably, includes Nolan favourites in the shape of Tom Hardy and Cillian Murphy, who will be joined by talents as diverse as Mark Rylance,Kenneth Branagh, Fionn Whitehead, Aneurin Barnard, James DArcy, Jack Lowden,Barry Keoghan and Tom Glynn-Carney. And of course, British boy band fans will be delighted to know that Harry Styles of One Direction is also involved.

A couple of set photos have also been revealed, with glimpses of Christopher Nolan on set and some of the sets, which are obviously using practical effects:

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

The film has incredible scope for mass scale action. The original Dunkirk evacuation saw 338,226 men saved from the French coast (while up to 40,000 were forced to surrender to the Germans), with 243 vessels sunk and British 177 aircraft shot down and 240 Luftwaffe craft in an incredible dogfight over Dunkirk.

Dunkirk will be released in July 2017.

Advertisement