Milla Jovovich Joins Period Thriller ‘Corto Maltese’

Chinese revolutionaries, Russian emperor Tsar Nicolas II and even the mad monk himself, Rasputin, are set to collide in the period action-thriller Corto Maltese, announced at AFM.

Milla Jovovich (Resident Evil) and Tom Hughes (Victoria) will star. Christophe Gans, whose credits include the French Beauty and the Beast, Silent Hill and Brotherhood of the Wolf, directs from a script by William Schneider.

Set at the dawn of the 20th century, Corto Maltese follows a legendary adventurer (Hughes) hired to hijack the armored train of the tsar that is transporting gold from St. Petersburg to Vladivostok. It’s based on the stories by comic book author and novelist Hugo Pratt.

Principal photography is slated to begin in January. Among various locations, the film will shoot in Europe and China.

Christian Mercuri’s Capstone Group will handle international sales on the film, which is being produced by Samuel Hadida through his Davis Films alongside Spain production and distribution company TriPictures.

This story first appeared in The Hollywood Reporter‘s Nov. 2 daily issue at the American Film Market.