It’s being reported that Harry Potter star Rupert Grint and Jonathan Pryce (Pirates of the Caribbean, Tomorrow Never Dies) will be starring in the upcoming World War II soccer drama called Wartime Wanderers. The film is being directed by David Whitney from a screenplay by Tim Purcell and Jack Seddon, based on Purcell’s book.
The film “tells the story of the 1939 Bolton Wanderers F.C. team, who, inspired by a speech by captain Harry Goslin, enlisted to active duty en masse: a rarity among professional footballers of the time.” The regiment they joined ended up seeing action in France, Africa, and North Italy with only one of the 15 team members being killed in action.
Pryce will be playing the manager of the team while Grint will be playing Ernie Frost, the team’s clown. Other cast members include Sean Maguire (Meet the Spartans) as Goslin, Matthew McNulty (Control) as Ray Westwood, the team’s star player, and Bradley Walsh (Law and Order: UK) as the Sergeant Major looking after the enlistees.
The filmmakers are looking to start shooting this fall with a release in summer 2012.
(Source: The Playlist)