Luca Marinelli has been cast as Benito Mussolini in Joe Wright‘s upcoming biopic series for Sky.
PvNew revealed last month that Wright, who recently finished promoting his feature film “Cyrano,” was set to direct the series chronicling Mussolini’s rise to power against a backdrop of fascism and World War II.
Wright also helmed Winston Churchill drama “Darkest Hour,” which saw Gary Oldman nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of the former British prime minister.
“M. Son of the Century” is based on Antonio Scurati’s book and is set to go into production at Cinecittà Studios in Italy over the next few weeks. Wright will direct all eight episodes.
Marinelli is an award-winning actor who’s been feted at festivals including Venice and Berlin. He has appeared in “The Old Guard” alongside Charlize Theron and is also known for his roles in “Martin Eden” and “They Call Me Jeeg.”
“M. Son of the Century” is produced by Sky Studios and Lorenzo Mieli for The Apartment Pictures, a Fremantle company, in collaboration with Pathé.
Stefano Bises (“Gomorrah”) and Davide Serino (“Esterno Notte”) have written the series, which will premiere exclusively on Sky Atlantic and streaming platform Now in all of Sky’s European markets. Fremantle are repping international rights.
“For a great project like ‘M.’, and for such a challenging role as Mussolini, we could only think of an extraordinary and eclectic talent like Luca Marinelli,” said Nils Hartmann, EVP for Sky Studios Italia and Deutschland. “There are not many actors like him in Italy or in the world, and we have been courting him for a long time and are now delighted to have him in this new Sky Studios production, which is becoming more and more unique. With the direction of a master like Joe Wright and with the guidance of Scurati’s novel, adapted here by Stefano Bises and Davide Serino, we are ready to launch a project that marks a further step forward in our creative and productive journey.”
