The Eagle of the Ninth

• Tahar Rahim Joins Kevin Macdonald’s Roman Epic ‘The Eagle of the Ninth’

  Published on: October 19, 2009

  Focus Features
  Press Release
  
  Tahar Rahim, the star of one of this year’s most acclaimed films, Un Prophète (A Prophet), has joined the cast of the Roman epic adventure The Eagle of the Ninth, currently being directed by Academy Award winner Kevin Macdonald and produced by Duncan Kenworthy. The film is co-financed by Film4 with Focus Features, which holds worldwide rights excluding U.K. free-TV.
  
  Heading the cast are Channing Tatum (G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, the upcoming Dear John), Jamie Bell (Defiance, Jumper), two-time Golden Globe Award winner Donald Sutherland, and Mark Strong (the upcoming Sherlock Holmes and Robin Hood). Mr. Macdonald is reunited on the new film with Jeremy Brock, BAFTA Award-winning screenwriter of his 2006 film The Last King of Scotland, who has adapted the screenplay of The Eagle of the Ninth from Rosemary Sutcliff’s classic novel of the same name.
  
  The Eagle of the Ninth is set in the dangerous world of second-century Britain. In 140 AD, twenty years after the unexplained disappearance of the entire Ninth Legion in the mountains of Scotland, young centurion Marcus Aquila (played by Mr. Tatum) arrives from Rome to solve the mystery and restore the reputation of his father, the commander of the Ninth. Accompanied only by his British slave Esca (Mr. Bell), Marcus sets out across Hadrian’s Wall into the uncharted highlands of Caledonia – to confront its savage tribes, make peace with his father’s memory, and retrieve the lost legion’s golden emblem, the Eagle of the Ninth. Mr. Sutherland portrays Marcus’ uncle Aquila, who has retired in Britain; Mr. Strong is cast as Guern, an ex-soldier who holds crucial information about the Ninth.
  
  Mr. Rahim will portray the Gaelic-speaking Seal Prince, the fearsome leader of a band of warriors who pursue Marcus and Esca through the highlands. The actor recently came to international prominence with his lead role in Jacques Audiard’s Un Prophète, which world-premiered at last spring’s Cannes International Film Festival, where it won the Grand Prix. The film has since been selected as France’s official submission for the Academy Awards.
  
  Read the full release here.
  

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