AC Milan forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic on Thursday announced his foray into films as he is set to make his big screen debut in the next Asterix movie.
Asterix and Obelix: The Middle Empire, the fifth film in the live action series based on the comic, will feature Ibrahimovic as a Roman named Caius Antivirus. The Swedish striker took to Instagram to reveal the name of his character, simply posting the word ‘Antivirus’ using the typeset and colours associated with the Goscinny/Uderzo heroes, AFP reported.
The film will be directed by Guillaume Canet who also plays Asterix. It also features stars Marion Cotillard as Cleopatra and Gilles Lellouche as Obelix. This is the first time in the five-film French-language franchise that Gerard Depardieu won’t portray Obelix.
Reports said the movie’s production, which was due to begin last year, was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With a budget of over 60 million euros (USD 71 million), it is already shaping up to be one of the biggest French productions.
The film is scheduled for release in 2022.
Meanwhile, Ibrahimovic recently came out of international retirement for Sweden and was recalled to the national side to feature in this year’s delayed Euro 2020.
He is also AC Milan’s top scorer with 17 goals this season.
(With inputs from agencies)
