Robert Harris’s Bestseller Munich Is Being Adapted by Netflix & Jeremy Irons Has Been Cast In The Lead
Jeremy Irons has been around the ‘character-artist’ block so many times that his name is often more recognizable than himself in some of his roles. His most recent work in “Watchmen” gave us yet another fine performance. In the award-winning series, he played Adrian Veidt, aka Ozymandias.
This individual is, according to comic book lore, not just a genius philanthropist but also the progenitor of the Watchmen as we know them. Adrian worked under the alias Ozymandias before events, let’s just say, temporarily took him out of the picture.
Irons has given us some excellent performances in movies like “Reversal of Fortune” (1990 | he won an Oscar for this one). He’s already in Zack Snyder’s “Justice League”. His acting was stellar in the TV series “The Borgias” (2011-2013). “The French Lieutenant’s Woman” (1981) put him opposite Meryl Streep and the two definitely turned heads.
Irons is renowned for so many other roles that getting into them will take more than what this article can contain. Let’s just say “Munich”, or rather Prime Minister Chamberlain is in good hands.
The Adaptation
When Netflix announced that it was adapting Robert Harris’s 2017 bestselling novel “Fatherland” into a full-fledged movie for streaming, we checked off two points on our list. One: “Munich” is going to garner some serious awards attention. Two: Netflix may well be a god in the so-called streaming machine, much like Jeremy Irons was in “Watchmen”.
The movie seems set to do justice to the book. The plot… It is 1938 and the world is about to tumble into the pit of war. Czechoslovakia has come into Adolf Hitler’s scope. Meanwhile, the U.K. Prime Minister at the time, namely Neville Chamberlain, is preparing plans for peace.
An emergency conference has been called to avoid World War II, and a British civil servant and German diplomat are dispatched to attend. These fictional characters are Hugh Legat and Paul von Hartmann respectively, and the men (who also happen to call each old friend) make for Munich post-haste.
Whatever negotiations they thought they were going to have in Munich soon prove a dangerous game, fraught with political subterfuge.
And The Roles Go To
Jeremy Irons is of course going to walk in the shoes of the historically misunderstood Neville Chamberlain. Netflix roped in George McKay (of “1917” fame) to portray the character of Hugh Legat. To play the power-mad dictator, Martin Wuttke has proven to be the best bet. Besides, the man gave us a stunning portrayal of Hitler in “Inglourious Basterds”.
Other cast members include Sandra Hüller (“The Black Square” / “I Am You Man”) | Jannis Niehwöhner (“Cortex” / “The Turncoat”) | Erin Doherty (“The Crown” | “Intelligent Design”) | Liv Lisa Fries (“Prélude” / “Babylon Berlin”) | Marc Limpach (“Freies Land” / “Bad Banks”) | August Diehl (“A Hidden Life” / “The Last Vermeer”) | Robert Bathurst (“Downton Abbey” / “Cold Feet”).
Promises To Be A Great War Movie?
Perhaps… With Ben Power (“I Hate Suzie” / “The Hollow Crown”) adapting the novel, we can expect some fine writing for this Netflix adaptation. Christian Schwochow, renowned for his work on “The Crown” TV series will be directing, adding to our reasons to watch this flick. Turbine Studios is handling production through the capable hands of Andrew Eaton (“The Crown” / “Rush” / “The Trip” franchise).
Acclaimed actor Robert Harris (“Valley of the Dolls” / “Apache Uprising” / “How to Make a Monster”) gave his two cents to Variety magazine: “It’s great to see an actor of Jeremy Irons’ stature playing Neville Chamberlain. This will be the first time a major movie has gone beyond the cult of Winston Churchill and tried to show Chamberlain in a more sympathetic light.”
The movie is scheduled to shoot in both Britain and Germany. It is currently filming in the latter. “Munich” Netflix is slated for release sometime in 2021.