Sky Italia has announced the filming of its new original creation, Romulus, in Rome and the surrounding area. The filming schedule will span 28 weeks.
The project has been assigned to the Italian director Matteo Rovere, who is once again looking at the legendary founding of Rome — he directed Il Primo Re, a feature film about the myth of Romulus and Remus, released in Italy in late January.
Romulus takes place in the 8th century BC, telling the story of the birth of Rome through the eyes of three characters “marked by death, loneliness and violence”: Lemos, Wiros and Ilia. They are acted by Francesco di Napoli, Andra Arcangeli and Marianna Fontana. In order to be faithful to the period, the dialogue is in archaic Latin, as in Il Primo Re.
The series’ 10 episodes are directed by Matteo Rovere, Michele Alhaique and Enrico Maria Artale. Matteo Rovere also worked on the scripts, with Guido Iuculano and Filippo Gravino.
He has commented that “Romulus is a story about feelings, war, brotherhood, courage and fear. It’s a huge epic fresco, a very realistic reconstruction of the events which led to the founding of Rome. Above all, it is an investigation into the origins and significance of power in the West. A journey into an archaic and frightening world, where everything is sacred and the gods are present everywhere.”
Sky Italia continues to produce original creations, following the success of its two series The Young Pope and Gomorra. The Romulus series is expected on the screens early 2020. It will be distributed internationally provided by ITV Studios Global Entertainment.
Sources: https://www.itv.com, https://www.hollywoodreporter.com, https://www.corriere.it
