'Mussolini' web series from 'Atonement' director Joe Wright gears up for release. Here's what to expect from the Luca Marinelli-starrer arriving on MUBI

Streaming platform MUBI has announced the premiere date of Mussolini: Son of the Century, a new web series from director Joe Wright ("Atonement", "Darkest Hour").

An eight-part series, the show has actor Luca Marinelli ("The Eight Mountains", "The Old Guard") portraying the titular political figure Benito Mussolini. It premiered at the 81st Venice Film Festival last year.

According to the makers,  Mussolini: Son of the Century will be a "scathing contemporary portrait of Mussolini and his political rise, from the formation of the irregular militia of the Fasces of Combat to the imposition of the most ferocious dictatorships Italy has ever known."

The platform will launch the first two episodes on September 10, followed by weekly episodes leading to the finale on October 22, exclusively for viewers in North America, Latin America, Belgium, Luxembourg, Turkey, India and New Zealand.

Previous films featuring Mussolini as a lead or secondary character include Mussolini and I (1985), Tea with Mussolini (1999), Vincere (2009), and The Last Days of Mussolini (1974).

Two television shows have been made about Mussolini earlier: Mussolini: The Untold Story in 1985, starring George C. Scott; and Benito, starring Antonio Banderas, in 1993. However, both came under fire for not portraying the controversial figure accurately and portraying Mussolini in a positive light. Joe Wright's series promises a more truthful account.

The most famous actors to portray him were Rod Steiger in The Last Days of Mussolini, aside from George C. Scott and Antonio Banderas.

Mussolini: Son of the Century is adapted by screenwriter Stefano Bises, known for the Gomorrah series, The New Pope, and ZeroZeroZero, alongside  Davide Serino, who wrote 1992, 1993, and The King.

Seamus McGarvey, who shot Atonement and Nocturnal Animals, is the director of photography. Tom Rowlands of The Chemical Brothers composed the soundtrack. 

The show is produced by Sky Studios and Lorenzo Mieli for The Apartment Pictures, a Fremantle company, in co-production with Pathé, in association with Small Forward Productions, in collaboration with Fremantle, Cinecittà S.p.A., and Sky.

Mussolini: Son of the Century joins the list of long-form originals in MUBI's catalogue after Wong Kar-wai's Blossoms Shanghai. The latter, a 30-episode series, is slated for a 2026 premiere on the streamer.

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