Sam Mendes is reteaming with Steven Spielberg for the World War I drama 1917.
Mendes, who co-wrote the script with Krysty Wilson-Cairns, will direct the film. The package was just picked up by Spielberg’s Amblin Partners, which beat out several studios, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.
The deal comes with a commitment to finance the movie to the tune of $100 million. Amblin is also planting a flag for a December 2019 release through the company’s distribution partner, Universal Pictures. The logline is being kept hidden in a bunker.
Wilson-Cairns was a writer on Penny Dreadful, the period Showtime thriller Mendes executive produced.
The plan is for Mendes, who is juggling stage commitments, to shoot the movie next year. It will mark his first time behind the camera since directing the last two James Bond movies, Skyfall and Spectre.
Mendes worked with Spielberg on his first two movies when the latter was running DreamWorks. The company was behind Mendes’ debut, 1999’s American Beauty, which won five Oscars, including best picture, as well as his follow-up, Road to Perdition, the 2002 gangster drama that starred Tom Hanks.
“Our company has been a home for Sam since his first film,” Spielberg said Monday in a statement. “I am so happy to have him back here in his old room spinning new stories — especially this hugely daring and ambitious new movie.”
