Anthony Mackie's $150M Desert Warrior Faces Rocky Release

Anthony Mackie headlines Desert Warrior, a $150 million historical action epic set in seventh-century Arabia. He plays Hanzala opposite Ben Kingsley, Aiysha Hart, Numan Acar and Sharlto Copley in a story about Princess Hind fleeing Emperor Kisra and uniting tribes for the Battle of Ze Qar.

The film is directed by Rupert Wyatt, co-written by Wyatt, David Self, Erica Beeney and Gary Ross, and is scheduled to open April 24, 2026, with a runtime listed at 114 minutes. The shoot, filmed in 2021 on remote desert locations, proved difficult: producer Jeremy Bolt called it "the hardest of my career," noting crews had to bring in infrastructure and equipment from other countries.

Saudi-backed MBC financed the picture as part of a push to build the kingdom’s film industry, a connection that has drawn political scrutiny, and creative disputes over tone and length prompted Wyatt to leave the project for several months during post-production.

Saudi Arabia

anthony mackie, desert warrior, rupert wyatt, ben kingsley, sharlto copley, jeremy bolt, saudi arabia, mbc, post-production, production issues