Christopher Nolan's WWII Drama 'Dunkirk': On-the-Set Photos Posted From France

Remember this day: May 23, the day Harry Styles went to war. In other words, principal photography is now under way for director Christopher Nolan’s World War II drama Dunkirk, featuring the film acting debut of the One Direction member (and his newly shorn hair). Styles doesn’t appear in any of these first-look set photos, shot by French photographer Pierre Volot on location in Dunkirk, France, and shared on Twitter. Nevertheless, even absent a boy-bander, the images are beautiful and haunting—a good indication of what’s to come when the film opens on July 21, 2017. Scroll down to take a look.

According to the official synopsis released by Warner Bros. today, Dunkirk is an “epic action thriller” about thousands of British and Allied troops surrounded by the German army on the beaches of France in 1940. More than 300,000 troops were ultimately evacuated by sea in an operation that became known as the Miracle of Dunkirk.

Though it was initially reported that Styles had a starring role in the film, the new press release lists him as a member of the “ensemble cast” alongside several other actors, including Jack Lowden and Barry Keoghan (both stars of last year’s Irish thriller ’71). The film’s leading men include Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Mark Rylance, and Kenneth Branagh, along with Nolan’s new discovery Fionn Whitehead (who, like Styles, is making his film debut).

Dunkirk will be Nolan’s first historical drama, and his first period piece since 2006’s steampunk magician fantasy The Prestige.

All images: Pierre Volot via Twitter