Valkyrie is the official working title for an upcoming film currently in production that will be directed by Bryan Singer and will star Tom Cruise. The film is based on the July Plot of German army officers to assassinate Hitler. Cruise will portray the leader of the plot, Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg. Cruise’s portrayal caused controversy among German politicians and members of Stauffenberg’s family due to the actor’s practice of Scientology, though German newspapers and filmmakers gave support to the film to spread global awareness of von Stauffenberg’s attempted plot.
Valkyrie - Official Trailer
The filmmakers of Valkyrie initially had difficulty setting up filming locations in Germany, but they were later given leeway to film in locations pertaining to the film’s story, such as Berlin’s historic Bendlerblock. Valkyrie is slated for an June 27, 2008 release. The “July 20 Plot” on Hitler’s life is one of the most heroic but least known episodes of World War Two. Severely wounded in combat, Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg returns from Africa to join the German Resistance and help create Operation Valkyrie, the complex plan that will allow a shadow government to replace Hitler’s once he is dead. But fate and circumstance conspire to thrust Stauffenberg from one of many in the plot to a double-edged central role. |
