1917 trailer: Sam Mendes weaves a harrowing World War I tale, starring Colin Firth, Benedict Cumberbatch

Director Sam Mendes is returning to the war genre, 14 years after he helmed Jarhead (2005). The first trailer of his upcoming war drama _1917_ has now been debuted, and it recounts one harrowing day in the lives of two British soldiers during World War I. [caption id=“attachment_7098081” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  A still from 1917. YouTube screebgrab[/caption] The trailer opens with a soldier darting through a field as slate-coloured clouds from multiple back-to-back explosions. The scene swiftly shifts to another sequence, where two servicemen,  Schofield (played by George MacKay from Captain Fantastic) and Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman of _Game of Thrones-_fame) are tasked with a “nearly impossible” mission to cross the enemy lines and stop an impending attack that could potentially kill thousands of soldiers, Blake’s brother among them. “Your orders are to deliver a message calling off tomorrow’s attack. If you don’t, we will lose 1,600 men, your brother among them,” they are warned by Colin Firth’s character. The supporting cast also includes Mark Strong, Benedict Cumberbatch, Richard Madden, and Andrew Scott among others. Mendes wrote the script with Penny Dreadful writer Krysty Wilson-Cairns, and will also produce the film, along with Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Partners. Amblin Partners won a spec package auction for 1917 in June. 1917 was the fourth year of World War I, which ended on 11 November, 1918. Pippa Harris, Mendes’ partner at Neal Street Productions, will also produce it with Jayne-Ann Tenggren and Callum McDougall. The film will have a limited theatrical release on Christmas Day, two weeks after which it will widely open on 10 January, 2020. Mendes also helmed Away We Go, and the last two James Bond movies, Skyfall of 2012 and Spectre of 2015. His career in theatre has also been quite prolific, with stage musicals such as Cabaret, Oliver!, Company, Gypsy, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Mendes directed The Lehman Trilogy earlier in 2018, which featured Simon Russell Beale, Ben Miles, and Adam Godley. Watch the trailer of 1917 here