Karim Debbagh’s Kasbah Films is slated to produce the sequel to Nicolas Cage’s 2005 hit picture “Lord of War.” The sequel will begin filming in Morocco in March 2024, according to the owner and producer Karim Debbagh, who confirmed this last week on the sidelines of the Marrakech Film Festival.
“We were trying to cover four or five African countries, such as Libya, Egypt, Senegal, and Mali, in addition to several countries in the Middle East,” the veteran producer told Variety and Clutch Points magazines, “and we’ve found almost everything in Morocco,” he declared enthusiastically. “Casablanca itself is so diverse that you find areas that look like Senegal and others that are very luxurious like a California neighborhood.”
Debbagh had been forced to cease activities for eight months due to the actors’ and writers’ strike in the US that paralyzed Hollywood earlier this year.
The decision to film in Morocco is bolstered by the country’s scenic versatility and local tax rebate incentives, which have increased to 30% since 2022.
Debbagh indicated that “Lords of War” would benefit from the redesigned rebate scheme, spending around €7 million in eligible expenses in Morocco and receiving a rebate of approximately €2 million.
In a “first come, first served” policy, €8 million has been set aside for all other international productions that will be filming in the country.
“There is a new wave of Moroccan cinema and directors who are ambitious and trying new things, and we’ve noticed in recent years that the presence of Moroccan movies at Cannes and other top festivals is stronger than at any other time,” Debbagh said, citing Sofia Alaoui’s film “Animalia” and Faouzi Bensadi’s film “Deserts.”
The Lords of War sequel, a follow-up to one of Nicolas Cage’s critically praised films, will have a team of 400 to 500 staff members, including around 100 from the United States and the United Kingdom. The skill of the local Moroccan crew, honed by past big-budget productions, has contributed to the country’s growing popularity as a filmmaking location.
Kasbah Films is also involved in other international projects beyond “Lords of War,” such as the upcoming UK series “Atomic” and the British film “Faster Than Horses.”