Barbara Broccoli has confirmed that her first post-James Bond feature Othello has secured financial backing in Qatar and will shoot in the Gulf territory in the autumn of 2026.
David Oyelowo, Rachel Brosnahan and Cynthia Erivo are set to star in the film, with Oyelowo also down to direct.
Broccoli announced the news at the three-day Industry Days in Qatar hosted by the Film Committee at Media City Qatar in partnership with the Doha Film Institute, where she was joined on stage by Nicky Bentham and Oyelowo.
The James Bond producer and Bentham are producing for EON Productions with Oyelowo for Yoruba Saxon and in partnership with Qatar’s Doha-based Katara Studios, which is co-financing the feature.
The feature will also tap into the country’s recently announced Qatar Screen Production Incentive (QSPI).
L.A.-based production and VFX giant Company 3, which announced on Saturday that it was setting up an operation in Doha, will also be working on the film.
The long-gestated project takes its cue from Broccoli’s 2016 theater production of the Shakespeare classic Othello transposing the early 17th century Venice-set drama about a Moorish commander to a U.S. barracks in Iraq.
The original stage production, which had a short run at the New York Theater Workshop, was directed by Sam Gold, and starred Oyelowo as Othello.
Oyelowo returns to the cast alongside Brosnahan, who reprises her role as Desdemona, and with Erivo, who will play Desdemona’s maid Emilia.
Rumors that the feature was close to being green-lighted have been rife even since Broccoli’s Eon Production registered the Othello Film Company Limited.
Broccoli is among a raft of top cinema professionals who have been in conversations with Qatar for some time over possible collaborations, with the producer spotted at a gala dinner hosted by the Doha Film Institute (DFI) and the Media City Qatar (MCQ) on the fringes of the Venice Film Festival in 2024.
Confirmation of the Othello shoot in Qatar comes just months after Broccoli ceded the rights with her brother Michael G. Wilson to their family’s James Bond franchise to Amazon MGM Studios.
Broccoli announced the Othello news in the context of a masterclass on creative producing in which she was joined by Oscar-nominated producer and former mentee Bentham, with Oyelowo taking to the stage as an unannounced guest.
“I’ve wanted to produce the cinematic adaptation of Othello since we staged the production in New York in 2016. I’m incredibly excited that David Oyelowo will be directing and returning as Othello, Rachel Brosnahan will be reprising the role of Desdemona and Cynthia Erivo is playing Emilia. We thank the Film Committee for their support and look forward to shooting in Qatar in Autumn 2026,” said Broccoli.
Oyelowo added: “Our cinematic version of Othello is bitingly modern and fearlessly ambitious. To have a real shot at that, you need fearless actors. Cynthia is not only a generational talent but a dear friend with whom I am always keen to collaborate, and Rachel was a dream to play opposite in our original stage production and has been an inspiring pillar to build around for our fresh take on this legendary tale”.
Created in 2022 and falling under the remit of Media City Qatar, the body charged with growing the country as a media and creative industries hub, Qatar’s Film Committee is headed by Hassan Al Thawadi, the Qatari lawyer who oversaw the organization of the Qatar World Cup.
After working on its strategy under the radar until now, the body has finally lifted the lid on its ambitions and activities at the Industry Days over the past three days, with a raft announcements including a new incentive and partnerships with Neon and Department M, Miramax, Sony and Company 3.
