Brendan Fraser has been cast as Dwight D. Eisenhower in a new historical drama called Pressure, according to a report by Deadline. The movie is about the historic storming of Normandy during World War II, often referred to as D-Day. It will focus on the late POTUS’ time as the Supreme Allied Commander and James Stagg (Andrew Scott) as Britain’s Chief Meteorological Officer trying to plan the attack.
Pressure was announced on Friday with Fraser and Scott as the main leads. It comes from Studiocanal and Working Title, and director Anthony Maras co-wrote the script with David Haig. It is a screen adaptation of Haig’s play, which has already been critically acclaimed. This project follows a string of successes for Fraser, including his Oscar-winning performance in The Whale and his SAG Award-nominated performance in Killers of the Flower Moon.
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The movie will focus on how Eisenhower, Stagg and others worked together to plan the complex and high-stakes operation to invade Normandy, France and reclaim it from the Nazi forces. It will emphasize a small but dramatic aspect of the battle – the struggle to gather data on the conditions and coordinate the attack between disparate military forces.
“In the 72 hours leading up to D-Day, all the pieces are in place except for one key element – the British weather,” reads the official synopsis. “Britain’s Chief Meteorological Officer James Stagg is called upon to deliver the most consequential forecast in history, locking him into a tense standoff with the entire Allied leadership. The wrong conditions could devastate the largest-ever seaborne invasion, while any delay risks German intelligence catching on. With only his trusted aide Captain Kay Summersby to confide in, and haunted by a catastrophic D-Day rehearsal, the final decision rests with Supreme Allied Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower. With only hours to go, the fate of the war and the lives of millions hang in the balance.”
The victory at Normandy was one of the major factors that helped Eisenhower become a political powerhouse and ultimately helped get him elected as the 34th President of the United States. Eisenhower started his term in 1953, so the film won’t cover that part of his story, but it will set him on the path. Commenters online are already marveling at side-by-side photos of Fraser and Eisenhower, noting how similar their features are.
Fraser has five other upcoming projects listed on his IMDb page, though all of them have completed filming. It’s unclear when we’ll see him on screen next, or when Pressure might be released.
