Djimon Hounsou and Kodi Smit-McPhee to Star in ‘The Zealot’

Djimon Hounsou and Kodi Smit-McPhee have found their next project, and it will allow them two portray intense characters in a thriller that will keep audiences on the edge of their seats. According to Variety, the performers have been cast in The Zealot, the next project from Vadim Perelman. The unpredictable film will adapt Bennett Fisher‘s successful play, Damascus, with the author writing the screenplay for the upcoming feature. The two lead characters will learn a lot from one another, as the Persian Lessons director attempts to introduce a story that will both entertain and make global audiences reflect about the state of the world.

The Zealot will follow Hassan, a Somali-American airport shuttle driver struggling to make ends meet. Everything will change for the character when Lloyd, a young traveler stranded at the airport, offers to pay Hassan if he takes him to Chicago by land. But by the time Hassan realizes the passenger isn’t who he claims to be, it will be too late, and the driver will be stuck in a dangerous ride he can’t get away from. The Zealot will be produced by Jib Polhemus, Michael Helfant and Bradley Gallo, as Hassan tries to stay alive under the threat Lloyd represents.

The project will serve as a nice change of pace for both Hounsou and Smit-McPhee, who have been busy with very different projects from the one they have just joined. Hounsou reprised his role as General Titus in Rebel Moon: Part Two – The Scargiver, the sequel that continues Kora’s (Sofia Boutella) rebellion against the powerful Imperium. When it comes to what Kodi Smit-McPhee has been doing, the performer has been seen in some of the most acclaimed titles of recent years, including Elvis and The Power of the Dog. Both actors will bring the best of their talents to The Zealot, a thriller about prejudice and survival.

Who is Directing ‘The Zealot’?

Vadim Perelman, the director known for titles such as House of Sand and Fog and The Life Before Her Eyes, will sit behind the camera for The Zealot, giving audiences the opportunity to experience the tension of Fisher’s play on the screen. In House of Sand and Fog, the filmmaker took charge of the narrative that followed Kathy Nicolo (Jennifer Connelly), as she fights against an immigrant family over the ownership of a house. The struggle for the property eventually destroys all of their lives, in a devastating drama that earned three Academy Award nominations upon release.

A release date for The Zealot hasn’t been set. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.