The project was announced in June 2018, with MacKay and Chapman signing on in October and the rest of the cast joining the following March. Mark Strong, Andrew Scott, Richard Madden, Claire Duburcq, Colin Firth, and Benedict Cumberbatch also star in supporting roles. Partially inspired by stories told to Mendes by his paternal grandfather Alfred about his service during World War I, the film takes place after the German retreat to the Hindenburg Line during Operation Alberich, and follows two British soldiers, Will Schofield ( George MacKay) and Tom Blake ( Dean-Charles Chapman), in their mission to deliver an important message to call off a doomed offensive attack.
1917 is a 2019 British war film directed and produced by Sam Mendes, who co-wrote it with Krysty Wilson-Cairns.
