Roland Emmerich’s new movie will be heading to World War II for his next film, with a project called Midway. Other than the title’s obvious reference to the historic bellwether battle of the war’s Pacific theatre, not much was known other than the presence of cast members Woody Harrelson and Mandy Moore. However, the Midway starring trifecta is now complete.
Luke Evans has joined the cast of Midway, reports THR. He will play the real-life hero in Lt. Commander Wade McClusky, a Navy pilot whose snap decision during June 1942’s Battle of Midway helped the U.S. Navy spot the elusive Japanese fleet. The move led to a crucial victory, also earning McClusky the Naval Cross.
In the film, Evans’s McClusky will be joined in the onscreen war by Woody Harrelson, who will play Admiral Chester Nimitz, who oversaw the titular battle and eventually recounted the actions of McClusky, citing them as the very action that decided the fate of the fleet.
Evans, a Welsh actor, has been fielding one high-profile project after the other in recent years, notably with his co-starring role – opposite Emma Watson – in Disney’s live-action Beauty and the Beast, drama The Girl on the Train, his recurring role as Owen Shaw in the Fast and Furious films (most recently in 2017’s Fast & Furious 8), as Bard the Bowman in The Hobbit films, as well as a television run on TNT’s The Alienist.
Midway will see Roland Emmerich in the director’s chair for what will likely prove to be another onscreen cavalcade of destruction. The Independence Day franchise helmer has several other projects queued such as Maya Lord, Moonfall, a reboot of his classic film, Stargate, and (still tentatively,) Independence Day 3. On Midway, Emmerich will work off a screenplay by Wes Tooke (Colony, Jean-Claude Van Johnson). Bona Film Group is one of the film’s primary producing benefactors, with U.S. and U.K. distribution to be fielded by Lionsgate.
Midway has yet to set a release date. The film is scheduled to shoot in Montreal at a time not yet revealed.