Trivia / Valkyrie

• All-Star Cast: An ensemble led by Tom Cruise, it is composed by Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson, Kenneth Branagh, Eddie Izzard, Carice Van Houten, Thomas Kretschmann, Terence Stamp, Tom Hollander, Kevin McNally, Christian Berkel, David Schofield and many others. Carice Van Houten and Halina Reijn count too as far as the Netherlands are concerned (van Houten wouldn't reach worldwide fame until Game of Thrones).
• Cast the Runner-Up: Thomas Kretschmann (Major Remer) was the original choice to play Stauffenberg, until the studio insisted on a bigger star for the role.
• Dawson Casting: Tom Cruise was about a decade older during filming than Stauffenberg was at the time of the Valkyrie plot.
• Fake Nationality: Most of the German characters are played by British actors, a few Americans (including Cruise) and two Dutch actresses (Carice Van Houten and Halina Reijn). The only ones that avert this are Thomas Kretschmann, Christian Berkel and Waldemar Kobus.
• Font Anachronism: On the banner with the inscription "Führer befiehl, wir folgen dir", the font used is a Fraktur type. This is extremely improbable, given that Hitler had banned all Fraktur types in 1941 while openly stating that they were of Jewish origin.
• On-Set Injury: The side of a vintage truck detached as the vehicle turned a sharp corner, causing a number of extras on board to fall out. One man was seriously injured and ten more suffered minor injuries. The extras involved later filed a lawsuit against the production.
• Playing Against Type: Jokes aside, this is Tom "Top Gun" Cruise playing a Wehrmacht officer with an eyepatch. Also, David Schofield (Gladiator, Pirates of the Caribbean, etc.) plays a sympathetic character for a change.
• Production Posse: John Ottman composes the film's soundtrack as he did in previous Bryan Singer films such as The Usual Suspects or X2: X-Men United, as well as Newton Thomas Sigel doing the cinematography. This was also Christopher McQuarrie's second collaboration with Singer years later after The Usual Suspects and it marked his first collaboration with Tom Cruise, whom he worked with in Jack Reacher, Edge of Tomorrow and two installments of the Mission: Impossible franchise.
• Real-Life Relative: An interesting case. Tresckow's aide at the beginning is played by Philipp von Schulthess, Stauffenberg's real-life grandson. In the film, Nina von Stauffenberg is pregnant with his mother.
• Separated-at-Birth Casting: Cruise took an interest in the role when he saw a profile picture of Stauffenberg that uncannily looked like him.
• Troubled Production:
  • During filming, eleven people were hurt when a truck they were riding in lost a side panel, resulting in a $11 million lawsuit.
  • During post-production, some of the film was treated with the wrong chemical, destroying them, and necessitating reshoots.
  • The movie was controversial from the start, due to Tom Cruise's membership in the Church of Scientology, which Germany is extremely distrustful of. There were numerous anti-Scientology protests at the movie's premiere events.
• What Could Have Been: Patrick Wilson and Stephen Fry were offered unspecified roles for the film, but declined the offer due to scheduling conflicts.

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