The popular series of spy thriller novels will now be making its way to the big screen with the announcement of several cast members for Asif Akbar’s upcoming spy thriller, ‘MR-9’, based on the stories written by Qazi Anwar Hussain.
With filming now underway, several cast members have been announced for the film. According to sources, the film will star ABM Sumon, who recently appeared in a Bangladeshi spy thriller ‘Antarjal’, as the titular spy Masud Rana, also known as ‘MR-9’, who works for the Bangladesh Counter Intelligence Agency. Sumon will be facing off against Frank Grillo (Captain America: The Winter Soldier), who will be playing the main villain for the film. Alongside Sumon and Grillo, the film will also star Michael Jai White, known for his role in The Dark Knight, and Matt Passmore who recently starred in Jigsaw. Grillo's son, Remy Grillo, will also be starring in the film in his first acting debut.
The film will be based on a series of spy thriller books written by Hussain which centers around Masud Rana who made his first appearance in the 1966 novel Demolition Hill. Inspired by the James Bond stories from Ian Fleming, the character became widely popular in Bangladesh as he made appearances in over 460 novels after his original debut. The character was previously adapted for the big screen in the 1974 film, Masud Rana.
Filming is set to commence in both English and Bengali, and while exact plot details of the film remain unknown, MR-9 will be adapting the first novel of the series, Masud Rana: Dhonghsho Pahar, also known as Demolition Hill. With the recent end of Daniel Craig's James Bond series, fans of the spy genre may have a new franchise to be excited for.
MR-9 is directed by Akbar who pens the script alongside Nazim Ud Daula. The film will be produced under Jaaz Multimedia, Al Bravo Films, and MR-9 Films. Al Bravo, Hemdee Kiwanuka, Colin Bates, Akbar, Philip Tan, and Abdul Aziz will serve as producers of the film alongside Niko Foster, Peter Nguyen, and Phillip B. Goldfine as executive producers.
The film stars Sumon, Grillo, White, and Passmore alongside Sakshi Pradhan, Niko Foster, Omi Vaidya, Oleg Prudius, Jackie Siegel, Anisur Rahman Milon, and Shahidul Alam Sachchu.
At the moment, no release date for the film has been set yet. -Deadline
