AppleTV+ has ramped up its production of wartime releases, and the streaming service’s latest will center around the Blitz on London, United Kingdom from 1940-41. Starring Saoirse Ronan and directed by Steve McQueen, the film is slated to debut in North America at the New York Film Festival this fall.
Blitz was announced in October 2021, when news broke that Steve McQueen, best known for directing 2013’s 12 Years a Slave, would be writing and directing a film about the Second World War. A few months later, the director confirmed he’d be focusing on London during the Blitz. Filming began in November 2022 and wrapped the following February.
The synopsis from AppleTV+ describes the film, “Sir Steve McQueen’s Blitz follows the epic journey of George (Elliott Heffernan), a 9-year-old boy in World War II London whose mother Rita (Saoirse Ronan) sends him to safety in the English countryside. George, defiant and determined to return home to his mom and his grandfather Gerald (Paul Weller) in East London, embarks on an adventure, only to find himself in immense peril, while a distraught Rita searches for her missing son.”
Taking place between September 1940 and May ’41, the Blitz saw the German Luftwaffe launch relentless nighttime air raids on London and several other major cities throughout the UK.
The primary focus of the attacks was to target industrial areas used to supply troops serving in Europe, with the ultimate goal being to force the British Royal Air Force’s (RAF) Fighter Command into what was described as a “battle of annihilation.” The Battle of Britain had, for all intents and purposes, been lost by the Germans and they needed to take another approach.
While nighttime raids occurred more often, daytime attacks were also launched, leaving widespread destruction and devastation across the country. Outside of London, which was the heaviest hit, Liverpool, Southampton, Coventry, Manchester and Sheffield were among those targeted.
Over the course of the nine months the Blitz took place, more than 43,500 civilians lost their lives, while between 46,000 and 139,000 were injured. Of the two million residences that suffered damage or where destroyed, approximately 60 percent were located in London.
As the synopsis reveals, Saoirse Ronan will lead the film alongside newcomer Elliot Herrernan. Alex Jennings, Leigh Gill, Kathy Burke, Harris Dickinson and Stephen Graham also make up the cast, while McQueen’s Lammas Park led production, alongside Arnon and Yariv Milchan, Eric Fellner, Michael Schaefer, Adam Somner, Tim Bevan and Anita Overland.
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Blitz will have its worldwide premiere at the BFI London Film Festival on October 9, 2024, with the movie’s North American premiere doubling as the closing of the New York Film Festival. After a limited theatrical release on November 1, the film will become available for streaming via AppleTV+ on November 22.