Little Women star Saoirse Ronan has been tapped to join the cast of Steve McQueen’s upcoming wartime feature, Blitz. While it hasn’t been revealed who Ronan will be playing, we know at this time that McQueen’s return to feature-length productions will focus on stories of several Londoners during the heavy bombing days of WWII, known as the Blitz. Another mystery is who else will star alongside the four-time Academy Award-nominated actress as no other casting announcements have been made at this time.
Along with directing, McQueen will also pen the screenplay as well as produce the Apple film. Making a name for himself with his 2008 multi-award-winning feature, Hunger, McQueen’s storytelling talents have been celebrated by both critics and fans. Following the success of Hunger, McQueen would return to scoop up heaps of praise all over again for his genius behind 2013’s 12 Years a Slave. One of the biggest films of the year, the title would nab Best Film at the Academy Awards, BAFTA Awards, and Golden Globe ceremonies.
Things have been quiet on McQueen’s feature filmmaking front since the 2018 release of his star-studded heist thriller, Widows, so we’re excited to see the story he’s gearing up to tell in Blitz. Most recently, he switched his focus to the small screen, directing and producing both the documentary series Uprising and the anthology series Small Axe, the latter of which he also penned.
A celebrated name in the acting community, Ronan has seen massive success since her breakout role in Joe Wright’s Atonement, which saw her nominated for her first of four Academy Awards. Since then, she’s appeared in a number of well-received features including Brooklyn, Lady Bird, and Little Women, all of which would garner her Oscar nominations, with Lady Bird securing her the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy. Up next, fans can expect to see Ronan in Garth Davis’ sci-fi thriller, Foe, as well as Nora Fingscheidt’s drama The Outrun. You can currently catch her in Tom George's mystery comedy See How They Run.
For a speedy Collider history lesson, the Blitz was a time during the Second World War between 1940 and 1941 that saw London decimated by bombs dropped by German forces. Taken from the German word, “blitzkrieg,” which translates into “lightning war,” the term was first used by the British press before finding itself as the descriptor for this part of the war.
Blitz will be backed by McQueen’s Lammas Park with Working Title Films’ Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner as well as New Regency’s Arnon Milchan, Yariv Milchan, and Michael Schaefer.
As of right now, there’s no release window for Blitz, but cameras are set to begin rolling later this year.