United Artists just sent over our first look at Tom Cruise in the upcoming Bryan Singer directed Valkyrie in which Cruise stars as Col. Claus von Stauffenberg, the aristocratic German officer who led the daring ‘July 20′ plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler in 1944.
Below are two images of Cruise, the first being a comparison of Stauffenberg (left) to Cruise and the second being a full color look at the actor in his German garb.
Valkyrie is set to hit theaters August 8, 2008 and just began principal photography today in Berlin. Along with Cruise the film stars Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson, Eddie Izzard, Christian Berkel, Thomas Kretschmann, and Carice van Houten.
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. Not only must he lead the coup and seize control of his nation’s government … He must kill Hitler himself.
“Valkyrie tells a story that is not only exciting but also important,” said Singer. “It’s something that Chris McQuarrie and I have wanted to do for some time. I can’t imagine shooting it anywhere else but on location in Germany, and I’m thrilled that we were able to get Tom Cruise to play Col. Stauffenberg.”
“Valkyrie is a gripping thriller that will keep audiences on the edge of their seats — and also go a long way towards reminding the world that even within the ranks of the German military there was real resistance to the Nazi regime,” said United Artists Chief Executive Officer Paula Wagner. “As soon as we read the screenplay, we knew this was a movie we had to make.”