Following his acclaimed work in BBC One‘s anthology series, Small Axe, which saw the director helming five poignant feature-length installments, one would likely forgive Steve McQueen if he took some time off between projects. But, despite completing one of the biggest undertakings of his career, the Oscar-winning 12 Years a Slave filmmaker remains as busy as ever, and that comes as a great blessing to moviegoers everywhere. Currently, he’s in pre-production on his next dramatic feature, Blitz, another WWII film that’s slated to star Saoirse Ronan, Erin Kellyman, Kathy Burke, and newcomer Elliott Heffernan, the latter of whom is expected to lead the film. It’s also been announced that Stephen Graham and Triangle of Sadness‘ Harris Dickinson will lend their talents to this much-anticipated new movie.
As Variety reports, the plot details surrounding this historical new film remain under wraps, so it’s not yet known which roles the cast will fill in these proceedings. With that said, the publication is quick to note that Blitz refers to the German aerial bombing campaign made against the British in the early 1940s. Notably, during this time, London sustained serious damage from the ongoing war, and the British government introduced drastic measures on its civilians, including lockdowns, blackouts, and the evacuation of children to the countryside. As such, Blitz might serve as an ensemble piece exploring the country during this perilous time in its history — especially as it relates to a wealth of different citizens. It should also be noted that singer-songwriter Paul Weller will make his feature film debut with this project, which is expected to start shooting in London very soon.
Along with directing the upcoming film, McQueen also wrote and will produce Blitz, which comes from his first look deal with New Regency, with whom he partnered with for Widows and the aforementioned 12 Years a Slave. McQueen will produce the film through his production company, Lammas Park alongside Working Title Films’ Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner. Additionally, New Regency’s Arnon Milchan, Yarvi Milchan, and Michael Schaefer are slated to produce alongside Anita Overland and Adam Somner.
‘Blitz’: Steve McQueen’s World War II Feature Film Headed To Apple
Throughout its early run, Apple TV+ has prided itself on telling humane, character-focused features that can win over theatergoers and home audiences alike with their touching, personal, heartfelt stories. They have made quite a name for themselves with the Best Picture-winning success of CODA, most notably, and they’ve been trying to emulate that success in this year’s Oscar race, if perhaps not to the same high notice. But the future is looking bright for the streaming service. They have Martin Scorsese‘s Killers of the Flower Moon on the near horizon, and depending on when McQueen’s latest film is ready to screen in front of audiences, Blitz could very well be another awards season favorite for the empathetic director.
As production is expected to begin before the year comes to a close, we should expect to see even more developments with this intriguing new project in the days and weeks ahead. There’s no release date set. However, we’ll continue to provide updates on the project — especially as it gears up toward production.
In the meantime, check out the Small Axe trailer, which comes courtesy of Amazon Prime, below:
