Warner Bros. has released a new trailer for Dunkirk, the World War II action-thriller from writer/director Christopher Nolan. The film chronicles the evacuation of Dunkirk, a British military operation that saved 330,000 lives as Allied soldiers were surrounded by German forces. Nolan reunites with his Interstellar cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema on this history-based follow-up, and the two shot the film entirely with IMAX 65mm film and 65mm large-format photography, promising a moviegoing experience of epic proportions.

It looks like Nolan has once again pushed outside his comfort zone and made a serious war movie.  While there are some incredible shots in this trailer alone and its sense of scale is sure to be immense, the main question I have after watching this trailer is how bloody the violence will be.  To show the brutality of war, the events can't be bloodless, and yet the PG-13 rating that most studios require for blockbusters of this scale prevents showing the graphic violence of battle.  That puts Dunkirk in a tricky position, and I'm curious to see how Nolan will handle it.

It's also interesting to see that they're selling this as a true ensemble.  The trailer doesn't really focus on any one actor and there are moments given to all members of the leading cast.  While Nolan has never shied away from having big casts before, he's never done a movie that lacks a clear protagonist.  The main character may become clear in a later trailer, or perhaps this is an ensemble piece.  Either way, Dunkirk remains one of 2017's most exciting prospects.  Of course, it's a new Christopher Nolan film, so it's not like we're going to avoid seeing it.

Watch the new Dunkirk trailer below. The film stars Tom Hardy, Kenneth Branagh, Mark Rylance, Cillian Murphy, Aneurin Barnard, James D’Arcy, Jack Lowden, Barry Keoghan, Tom Glynn-Carney, and Harry Styles. Dunkirk opens in theaters on July 21, 2017.

Here’s the official synopsis for Dunkirk:

Dunkirk opens as hundreds of thousands of British and Allied troops are surrounded by enemy forces. Trapped on the beach with their backs to the sea they face an impossible situation as the enemy closes in.