The First Trailer for ‘Dunkirk’ Puts Christopher Nolan’s Vision of World War II on Display

Dunkirk finds director Christopher Nolan telling a reality-based, human story after years of comic book adaptions and cosmic odysseys.

Set during the early days of World War II, Dunkirk tells the real life story of the evacuation of the titular French port city. 300,000 Allied troops, most British, were successfully evacuated from the city before they could be killed or captured by Hitler’s quickly advancing German army.

The film’s first trailer makes it clear that Nolan will be telling the story with his usual visual approach. Vibrant shots of swooping planes, ships, and groupings of soldiers fill the screen. They give the trailer — and by extension the film — an epic quality.

Nolan’s Dunkirk is scheduled for release on June 21, 2017 and stars Aneurin Barnard, Kenneth Branagh, Mark Rylance, James D’Arcy, Tom Glynn-Carney, Tom Hardy, and One Direction member Harry Styles.