Sam Mendes Gives Inside Look at 1917 ‘Passion Project’ in New Featurette

Universal Pictures has released an extended featurette for Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes’ upcoming war movie thriller 1917, featuring behind-the-scenes footage as Mendes, the cast, and the production team discusses the director’s “passion project.” You can check out the video now in the player below!

RELATED: 1917 Review

At the height of the First World War, two young British soldiers, Schofield (Captain Fantastic’s George MacKay) and Blake (Game of Thrones’ Dean-Charles Chapman) are given a seemingly impossible mission. In a race against time, they must cross enemy territory and deliver a message that will stop a deadly attack on hundreds of soldiers—Blake’s own brother among them.

Benedict Cumberbatch (Doctor Strange), Colin Firth (Mary Poppins Returns), and Richard Madden (Game of Thrones) and Mark Strong (Shazam!) star in the film. Other additions to the cast include Andrew Scott, Daniel Mays, Adrian Scarborough, Jamie Parker, Nabhaan Rizwan, Claire Duburcq, George MacKay and Dean-Charles Chapman.

1917 is directed by Sam Mendes, who wrote the screenplay with Krysty Wilson-Cairns (Showtime’s Penny Dreadful). The film is produced by Mendes and Pippa Harris (co-executive producer, Revolutionary Road; executive producer, Away We Go) for their Neal Street Productions, Jayne-Ann Tenggren (co-producer, The Rhythm Section; associate producer, Spectre), Callum McDougall (executive producer, Mary Poppins Returns, Skyfall) and Brian Oliver (executive producer, Rocketman; Black Swan).

RELATED: 1917 Trailer Reveals a War Epic Like No Other

The film is produced by Neal Street Productions for DreamWorks Pictures in association with New Republic Pictures. Universal Pictures will release the film domestically in limited release on December 25, 2019 and wide on January 10, 2020. Universal and Amblin Partners will distribute the film internationally, with eOne distributing on behalf of Amblin in the U.K.