Coming off his stellar work in last year’s drug war thriller Sicario, Oscar winning actor Benicio Del Toro continues his renowned reputation of playing fascinating, often enigmatic characters. With similar appearances in Steven Soderbergh‘s Che, the two-part biopic about the Argentine Marxist revolutionary, and the 2010 horror remake The Wolfman, Del Toro is one of the best and more eclectic in the business for taking on dark roles that other actors wouldn’t dare to touch. And according to THR, Del Toro is attached to star in the Cuban mob drama The Corporation.
The film will be based on the upcoming novel The Corporation: An Epic Story of the Cuban American Underworld, written by T.J. English. It tells the true story from the 1950s to the 1980s of Jose Miguel Battle Sr. (Del Toro), who was the powerful leader of the Cuban Mafia. Although born in Havana, he escaped to the United States after Fidel Castro’s rise to power. Later on he was trained by the CIA and joined the Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961, although he was soon imprisoned. After his release, the Cuban managed to get back to the U.S. and then proceeded to build a dangerous criminal empire that involved murder, drug trafficking, and much more.
The novel proved a massive bidding war but Paramount was finally able to win the rights. The material is perfect for an adaptation like this, and may even end up in awards season. There’s no director or screenwriter officially on-board yet but with Del Toro as the lead, the studio will more than likely get top-notch talent for the project. Audiences can expect the film either towards the end of 2017 or 2018.
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