A new adaptation of All Quiet on the Western Front is set to be one of the biggest budget movies to ever come out of Germany – and Netflix has scooped the release rights. Daniel Brühl is set to lead the war drama, his previous work including roles in Inglourious Basterds, Rush, and Captain America: Civil War. He’s also due to star in the upcoming MCU series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier with Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan.
Based on the 1929 classic novel about World War I by former German infantryman Erich Maria Remarque, the script has been penned by former Washington Post journalist Ian Stokell and producer and actor Lesley Paterson. The novel follows teenagers Paul Baumer and his friends Albert and Muller, who voluntarily enlist in the German army. Initially passionately patriotic, their preconceptions about what’s right and wrong quickly crumble away as they witness the horrors of life on the front.
Edward Berger is on board to direct, who’s previously helmed projects like the Showtime series Patrick Melrose starring Benedict Cumberbatch and AMC’s The Terror featuring Tobias Menzies and George Takei. Earlier this year, Berger called the project a “physical, visceral and very modern film that has never been told from my country’s perspective. We now have the chance to make an anti-war film that will truly touch our audience.”
This isn’t the first time the novel has been adapted – a version made for the screen soon after its publication went on to win Best Picture at the 1930 Oscars and a Golden Globe-winning TV movie followed in 1979. However, this is the first time it’s been adapted by a German filmmaker.
There’s no release date for All Quiet on the Western Front yet, but in the meantime, you can check out our list of the best Netflix movies you can stream right now.
