Netflix Taps The King’s Speech Oscar Winner Tom Hooper to Direct Millie Bobby Brown in World War II Thriller Nineteen Steps

If you saw Nineteen Steps pop up in your Netflix queue and thought, 'Wait, is this some prog-rock sequel to A Perfect Circle's Thirteenth Step?', you’re not the only one. No, this is not about grunge albums or cryptic lyrics. What we’ve actually got here is a British WWII film, based on Millie Bobby Brown’s novel—no, really, her novel—and yes, she’s starring in it too. If you’re keeping score at home, that’s actor, bestselling author, and now, soon-to-be centerpiece of a Tom Hooper project.

So, What’s Nineteen Steps Actually About?

Here’s the gist: The story follows Nellie Morris, an 18-year-old navigating the absolute chaos of war-torn East London during WWII. Bombings? Check. Rationing? Obviously. New romance with a dashing American airman named Ray (because why not)? Of course.

But there’s real tragedy at the heart of this thing. The big historical event anchoring it all is the Bethnal Green Tube disaster—one of those events that would make anyone’s grandmother shudder. On a single night, 173 civilians were crushed to death while scrambling for shelter from an air raid. The book uses that disaster (which, weirdly, is not as well-known outside of the UK as you’d expect) as a core emotional turning point.

Brown wrote the book with Kathleen McGurl, pulling heavily from her own grandmother’s wartime experiences—so it’s got legit personal roots, not just ‘I Googled WWII for research last night’ vibes. The novel became a New York Times and Sunday Times bestseller, for what that’s worth.

The People Behind the Film (and No Shortage of Big Names)

• Director: Tom Hooper (yes, the The King's Speech Tom Hooper; Cats Tom Hooper, if you like to live dangerously)
• Screenplay: Anthony McCarten, who’s got four Oscar nominations (the guy wrote The Theory of Everything and Bohemian Rhapsody)
• Starring: Millie Bobby Brown (that’s not locked yet but Deadline says it’s her project to lead)
• Producers: Brown and new hubby Jake Bongiovi via PCMA; Jonathan Eirich (Rideback); Nick Reynolds (exec) also through Rideback

Notably, this is another collab for Netflix and Brown, who’s rapidly becoming their in-house Gen Z star. Even the producing side is pretty closely held—families, ride-or-dies, and a few established heavy-hitters.

Why the Sudden Career Pivot?

If you picked up rumblings that Brown was leaving another Netflix project, you’re not hallucinating. She was attached to star as US gymnast Kerri Strug in Perfect, Netflix's movie about the ‘Magnificent Seven’ Olympic team and Strug’s legendary vault on a busted ankle at the ’96 games. (You’ve probably seen the photos; they were everywhere—well, everywhere for 1996.)

Brown stepped out of that movie. On paper, Strug’s story seems perfect (sorry) for the Netflix treatment: gritty underdog, big emotional arc, iconic sports moment. Producers included Brown’s own PMCA outfit, Nik Bower of Riverstone Pictures, and Thomas Benski from Magna Studios. For whatever reason—likely schedule, personal priorities, or just not wanting to do twenty projects at once—Brown walked, and so far, Netflix hasn’t slotted in a replacement.

Honestly, Who Wouldn’t Mine Their Own Family Stories?

As far as 'inspired by true events' projects go, you really can’t fault someone for raiding the family history vault for stories like this. Full disclosure: if I’d pulled off half the stuff Brown’s grandmother survived, I’d demand my grandkids make a movie about it too.

'If I had my s**t together, I’d write a screenplay about my grandmother’s early days as a wartime nurse and Rat Pack groupie. She used to party with Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, and others before she met and fell in love with my grandfather, a skilled lantern maker from New York. She turned down a Hollywood contract to star in films for love. If that’s not material for a film, I don’t know what is.'

Nineteen Steps? It’s got family drama, history, and now one of the weirdest director-career-mashups this side of musical CGI cats. For now, it’s still in development, but as soon as there's casting or shooting news, I'll update you.