Netflix producing Israeli spy thriller 'The Angel' to premiere next year
The new film is based on the story of Egyptian spy Ashraf Marwan.
By AMY SPIROUpdated: JULY 30, 2017 12:23Netflix logo(photo credit: REUTERS)
While Israeli audiences are now getting used to Netflix in Hebrew, international audiences can get ready for a Netflix original film about a real-life Israeli spy.The video-streaming giant has signed on to produce a film based on Uri Bar-Joseph's book The Angel: The Egyptian Spy Who Saved Israel, published last year.According to a Variety exclusive, The Angel, which will be directed by Israeli Ariel Vromen, begins shooting this month in London and is expected to premiere globally on Netflix next year.The book and film follow the story of Ashraf Marwan, the son-in-law of former Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser and a close adviser to his successor, Anwar Sadat. Marwan, it turns out, was a spy for Israel for 27 years, and tried to warn the country of the 1973 Yom Kippur War before it broke out. However he couldn't hide his identity as a mole forever, and finally met an unfortunate end in London in 2007.Marwan is set to be portrayed by Dutch-Tunisian actor Marwan Kenzari. Israeli actors Sasson Gabai (The Band's Visit) and Ori Pfeffer (Hacksaw Ridge) will also be joining the cast. The film will be shot in Arabic, Hebrew and English.Vromen, a native of Tel Aviv, is best known for directing the 2012 film The Iceman. He also directed 2016's Criminal, which starred Kevin Costner and Gal Gadot.