Oscar-winning director Bille August, who recently scored a global hit with TV series “The Count of Monte Cristo,” is set for another high-end period show that this time will hark back to Ancient Rome and delve into the timely figure of Julius Caesar.
Underlining the project’s “contemporary” relevance, August, in an exclusive statement for Variety, pointed out that “The Republic of Rome was the first democracy to be undermined by a government that elected a dictator, granting him absolute powers.”
The series, working-titled “Julius Caesar,” will explore “the story of a great leader intoxicated by power,” the Danish director added, “uncovering the deep psychological complexities ultimately leading from the most epic feats to his downfall.”
August, who won an Oscar for “Pelle the Conqueror,” and is also a double Palme d’Or winner for “Pelle” and “Smilla’s Sense Of Snow,” has reunited with screenwriter Greg Latter – whom he worked with on “Goodbye Bafana,” “Night Train to Lisbon” and upcoming film “Me, You” – on the “Julius Caesar” project. It’s being produced by Italy’s Mediawan-owned Palomar, the company that also lead-produced “Monte Cristo.”
Filming, which will take place in Italy, is scheduled for early 2027. There are no casting details as yet.
“In today’s world, shaken by the spectre of war, it seems to us that taking on the challenge of portraying an extraordinary character such as Julius Caesar – unique orator, infallible strategist, far-sighted politician and great commander — is more relevant than ever,” said Palomar founder and CEO Carlo Degli Esposti, who is also a member of the Mediawan board.
“It has never been as crucial as today to highlight the story of such a contradictory man,” Degli Esposti continued. He called Julius Caesar ambitious and generous “but also cruel; a mixture of greatness and corruption exercised by power. By the desire to conquer power and maintain it, even at the cost of his life.”
Previous TV series that delved into the tale of Julius Caesar include 2005-2007 Emmy-winning HBO/BBC series “Rome” that chronicled the fall of the Roman Republic and Caesar’s rise to power; TNT’s pulpy 2002 miniseries “Caesar,” starring Jeremy Sisto in the title role; and 2023 BBC docudrama “Julius Caesar: The Making of a Dictator.”
August’s lushly lensed adaptation of Alexandre Dumas’ “The Count of Monte Cristo,” toplining Sam Claflin (“Peaky Blinders”) and Ana Girardot (“The Returned”), scored record-breaking ratings on Italian state broadcaster RAI and was sold widely by Mediawan around the world.