Saudi Arabia’s Long Delayed First Hollywood-Style Blockbuster ‘Desert Warrior,’ Starring Anthony Mackie, Is Finally About to Surface (EXCLUSIVE)
variety.comNick Vivarelli International Correspondent Three years ago, with some fanfare, Saudi Arabia’s first tentpole movie was announced, an action epic titled “Desert Warrior” shot in a scenic area around the site of the futuristic city of NEOM with a hefty $150 million budget.
Helmed by British director director Rupert Wyatt (“Rise of the Planet of the Apes”) and featuring a top notch international cast led by “Captain America” star Anthony Mackie, Ben Kingsley, and Aiysha Hart (“Mogul Mowgli,” “Colette”), “Desert Warrior” – which is set in at a pre-Islamic 7th century Arabia when Saudi was made up of rival, feuding tribes forever at each other’s throats – has since been caught in a seemingly endless tempest of reshoots, recuts, and infighting.
But now “Desert Warrior,” which is produced by Saudi-owned powerhouse MBC Studios with U.S. producer Jeremy Bolt (“Resident Evil”) and Stuart Ford’s AGC Studios, seems to have finally found some peace.
The symbolic epic touted as a testament to Saudi’s ambition to produce high-end content for global audiences is expected to surface next year, possibly on the festival circuit.
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