Marwan Kenzari has joined the cast of ‘The Old Guard’.
The 36-year-old actor – who can currently be seen as the villainous Jafar in Guy Ritchie’s live-action remake of Disney’s ‘Aladdin’ – is set to star in the film adaptation of a five-issue comic book series of the same name about immortal warriors.
The movie will also star Charlize Theron as 5,000-year-old Andronika the Scythian, who is known as Andy, the leader of the warriors, an Amazon from the Herodotus age of ancient Greece and has no idea why she’s still alive.
Starring alongside Charlize as another immortal warrior will be ‘If Beale Street Could Talk’ actress KiKi Layne, who will portray newest recruit Nile, a US Marine. A third role will be that of a French Renaissance thief, but their casting has not been revealed yet.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, ‘The Mummy’ star Marwan will play part of the "long-lived squad", a man who was once a "moor warrior".
‘The Old Guard’ comics were produced by writer Greg Rucka and illustrator Leandro Fernandez and the authors have described their work as a "fairytale of blood and bullets".
‘The Secret Life of Bees’ filmmaker Gina Prince-Bythewood will direct the movie, which is due to shoot this year in a number of locations, including Morocco and London.
Kenzari can currently be seen in re-imagining of the beloved 1992 Disney animation ‘Aladdin’ alongside Will Smith as The Genie, Naomi Scott as Princess Jasmine and Mena Massoud as the titular street urchin.
Former ‘Saturday Night Live’ star Nasim Pedrad has also been added to play new character Mara, a handmaiden and friend to Jasmine.