Benedict Cumberbatch has been suspiciously quiet for months. I have no idea what he’s been up to, but I imagine it involved having a dozen more babies with Sophie, and maybe catching up on some reading, hell if I know. Well, apparently Bendy read a script he likes and now he’s joining Colin Firth, Mark Strong and Richard Madden for a film set during World War I.
The new drama from Bond director Sam Mendes just got an influx of sexy, suave European gents. Richard Madden (Game of Thrones, Bodyguard), Benedict Cumberbatch (Doctor Strange, Patrick Melrose), Colin Firth (Mary Poppins Returns, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again), and Mark Strong (Shazam!, Deep State) have been cast in 1917, which is set during a single day at the height of World War I.
Andrew Scott, who played C in Mendes’ Spectre, is also on board the cast with Daniel Mays (Fisherman’s Friends, Rogue One), Adrian Scarborough (The Madness of King George, Christopher Robin), Jamie Parker (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child), Nabhaan Rizwan (Informer), and Claire Duburcq.
“…Which is set during a single day at the height of World War I.” Sort of like Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk? Is this the new thing? For years, every historical/war film was about World War II. Hollywood and British filmmakers plumbed the depths of every little part of WWII. And now they’ll do the same with World War I. Anyway, I enjoy all of these men in period costume, so I think it sounds interesting. Bendy in WWI drag – again, because he’s done a half-dozen films and TV projects set in this era – with Colin Firth, hottie Richard Madden and Mark Strong. I’m there. Unless it’s just “boy drama with horses” then I’ll probably still see it, but can we not??
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, WENN.
There are unfortunately thousands of other wars, why are the majority of films about World War 1 or 2?
There are actually not that many films about WWI. I expected there to be when the centenary was still going on but no major Hollywood movie was made, the Peter Jackson documentary was the most important really.
What more could white male filmmakers possibly have left to say WW1/2 at this point?
Also, I’m sorry, I’ve never thought he was attractive, but my god – Benedict looks repulsive with that moustache.
The problem I sometimes have with WW1 movies is that they try to portray a clear good and.bad side like in WW2, when there wasn’t one.
Well, I think we’d see a very different Europe than we have today if the Germans had won WWI, that’s for sure. Just because the British and French generals sacrificed millions of men for a few scraps of ground, doesn’t mean that they didn’t have a greater moral cause than the Germans. Britain didn’t declare war until Germany invaded Belgium.
That picture! LOL! You’re so mean @Kaiser! 😂
Sam Mendes talked a lot about Christopher Nolan and loving The Dark Knight and how it influenced Skyfall, and this does sound a bit Dunkirk-like. Considering Nolan’s incredible success there are worse people you could career-stalk. 🤷♀️
I’m so done of these award-bait war movies tbh. I just read this article and I’m already bored by this movie.
I’m kind of over these movies, but I must say I love that Richard Madden is in so many things these days. I didn’t appreciate him enough when he was in GOT. He’s super talented.
Funny if Richard Madden ends up having the Post-GOT career we thought Kit Harrington would have. I personally hope so cos he’s the more talented Winterfell bachelor
Richard Madden is really talented and I am happy he is a part of this movie. It looks like this movie is being positioned to be Oscar bait for 2020. It might be a possibility that Richard might be a part of two movies making the Oscar rounds next year (Rocketman being the other).
Yeah I think Madden is on track to have a pretty good career, he’s been making interesting choices. Once GoTis finished it will be interesting to see where Kit takes his career, will he go down the Orlando Bloom route of just blockbusters or will he be careful in his choices (I haven’t yet seen that tennis movie he did and it looks hilarious).
The tennis movie is hilarious
Kit Harrington was not even liked as an actor before season 4 came out and his Pompei film was a flop so apart form recently the GOT hype reaching the peak there hasn’t been much attention given to him.
I worked on the Bodyguard and I heard RM complaining that he kept being sent scripts where he was the dumb hunk or action hero without much dialogue, and not the meaty parts he wanted. I’m glad his career is rising, he’s such a sweet, down to earth guy.
Formal protest: This post isn’t complete until it also includes a photo of the divine Andrew Scott.
Scott is hot, I saw him in person whe he sat next to me in a coffee shop in Soho in London. At first it didn’t register who he was till after he’d gone. I kept thinking he looked familiar.
I did an acting class with him through IdeasTap before he was (super) famous, just one of the best human beings ever. I’ve seen all his plays since and so looking forward to Present Laughter.
WW1 is actually a very interesting time. It’s the moment Europe leaped into the modern age. Women never corsets or long poufy dresses after WW1. That’s enough to be interesting to me.
Only one woman mentioned in the cast list. I don’t think this movie will pass the Bechdel test.
to be fair… DUNKIRK was lit and i say this as black woman who actually likes to study those errors in regards to my people and how they contributed to that time…but i love the movie for despite it’s super whiteywhiteness
I was like GOTDAMN Nolan is it…. Dunkirk was just simply brilliant….dont tell that to my fiance tho, his tail was sleep but honestly it was just so riveting and pacing and i really appreciated the silence and emotive acting subtle with the eyes….not to mention the end when Tom Hardy kinda does the suicide mission that ended with being capture behind enemy territory but understanding that the enemy always wants the technology you used so he burns the plane knowing they will catch him due to the fire and smoke…..i went in a little bit but it was just soooooo heartbreaking and silent. Honestly I teared up knowing he was about to be tortured to death (which they didnt even come close to showing respectfully so).
Mark Strong is in Shazam! and Firth was in Mary Poppins Returns; how did I miss those things. LOL. Great cast for this film but I wish the movie were about something else. Anything else.
MARK STRONG! COLIN FIRTH! RICHARD MADDEN! ANDREW SCOTT! and that Cumberbund guy.
I’ll see it for the hot manly sandwich of Firth and Madden, with some Strong on the side.
Not terribly interested in seeing this upper-class twit (Cumberbatch) in anything for a while. I would, however, very much like reporters to start asking him that infamous question his female counterparts always seem to get asked by concern-trolling reporters: “How do you manage to balance work and a growing family? It must be SO difficult!”
WWI is a turning point for Great Britain, they lost a generation of men. I’d like to see a film that explored the participation of Britain’s Empire and the thousands of Black and Brown soldiers who traveled to Europe to fight for Mother England and were treated like shit. In the middle of a park in Tobago, there’s a statue honouring a Tobagonian who went to fight during WWI. He was a hero but I’ll never see a film about him or the other West Indian, African and Indian heroes. If they don’t want this to be just ANOTHER film about WWI, why don’t they try and tell the WHOLE story.
Damn straight. A movie about the Harlem Hellfighters is long long long long long long overdue. WWI was the first chance black American soldiers had to prove themselves in worldwide conflict. It’s one of history’s great ironies that devastation for one empire gave an opportunity to one of the races that empire exploited.
That’s already in development with Will Smith’s production company.