‘Empire Of Light’: Sam Mendes To Direct Olivia Colman In 1980s Romantic Drama

After scoring an incredible 10 Oscar nominations and 3 victories for his WWI film 1917, Sam Mendes has finally found what he’ll do next. And no, it’s not a sequel titled 1918.

Deadline reports Mendes will write and direct Empire of Light, and he’s already landed Oscar-winning The Favourite actress Olivia Colman to star. There aren’t many details on the film yet, but it seems to be a 1980s love story centered around a beautiful old cinema on the South Coast of England. Roger Deakins, who won an Oscar for his work on 1917, will return as cinematographer so we know it’ll look beautiful.

Mendes has been making some pretty big films of late, including two James Bond films in Skyfall and Spectre. But Empire of Light sounds like a return to the smaller dramas that built his name, such as American Beauty and Revolutionary Road. Colman is coming off yet another Oscar nomination, this time for The Father, for which she’s up for Best Supporting Actress.

Travis Hopson
Travis Hopson has been reviewing movies before he even knew there was such a thing. Having grown up on a combination of bad '80s movies, pro wrestling, comic books, and hip-hop, Travis is uniquely positioned to geek out on just about everything under the sun. A vampire who walks during the day and refuses to sleep, Travis is the co-creator and lead writer for Punch Drunk Critics. He is also a contributor to Good Morning Washington, WBAL Morning News, and WETA Around Town. In the five minutes a day he's not working, Travis is also a voice actor, podcaster, and Twitch gamer. Travis is a voting member of the Critics Choice Association (CCA), Washington DC Area Film Critics Association (WAFCA), and Late Night programmer for the Lakefront Film Festival.