Chugga-Chugga, Chugga-Chugga, CHOO-CHOO! "What's that noise?" we hear you cry. Why, it's the sound of the Brenaissance hype train continuing to gather speed, of course. Yes folks, after learning just last week that Andrew Scott is set to lead Anthony Maras' (Hotel Mumbai) upcoming WWII movie Pressure, Deadline has now confirmed that resurgent The Whale star Brendan Fraser has also joined the line-up for the true-story based D-Day thriller.
Fraser is set to play Supreme Allied Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower in Maras' film, which is set to see in-demand All Of Us Strangers and Ripley star Scott play unsung war hero Group Captain James Stagg. As the meteorologist who persuaded Eisenhower to change the date of the Normandy Landings, Stagg's elemental acuity under immense pressure (Hey, that's the title!) also changed the course of the war for the Allied Forces. It'll be interesting then to see Fraser and Scott, two intensely magnetic screen presences sharing the frame for the first time, playing out the high-stakes discussions that led to that last-minute manoeuvre within the framework of a ticking-clock thriller.
And here's that official synopsis once more: “In the seventy two hours leading up to D-Day, all the pieces are in place except for one key element—the British weather. Britain’s chief meteorological officer James Stagg (Scott) is called upon to deliver the most consequential forecast in history, locking him into a tense standoff with the entire Allied leadership. The wrong conditions could devastate the largest ever seaborne invasion, while any delay risks German intelligence catching on. With only his trusted aide Captain Kay Summersby to confide in, and haunted by a catastrophic D-Day rehearsal, the final decision rests with Supreme Allied Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower. With only hours to go, the fate of the war and the lives of millions hang in the balance.”
Maras has written Pressure alongside David Haig, on whose critically acclaimed play this new film is based, and production on the movie is expected to get underway in the UK this September — which bodes well for a potential 2025 release. For Fraser, his casting as Eisenhower comes off the back of a gripping supporting turn in Martin Scorsese's Killers Of The Flower Moon last year, whilst Scott will be coming onto the project fresh from having filmed Rian Johnson's upcoming Knives Out threequel Wake Up Dead Man. For now though, suffice it to say we'll be more than ready for the Pressure release whenever it eventually does hit our screens.