Barbara Broccoli is moving into her first major film project since stepping back from active work on the James Bond franchise, and she’s doing it with a bold new adaptation of ‘Othello’. The film will be directed by David Oyelowo, who will also star in the title role, with Rachel Brosnahan and Cynthia Erivo joining him in the cast. All three performers previously worked with Broccoli on her 2016 New York Theatre Workshop staging of the play, and this new feature will draw inspiration from that production.

Rather than keeping Shakespeare’s tragedy in its traditional Venetian setting, the film updates the story to a modern U.S. military base in Iraq, reframing its themes of jealousy, loyalty, and manipulation within a contemporary conflict zone. Brosnahan will reprise her role as Desdemona, while Erivo takes on the part of Emilia, bringing new dimension to a character often overshadowed in earlier adaptations.

The project is being produced through Eon Productions with Broccoli and Nicky Bentham, while Oyelowo will also produce under his Yoruba Saxon banner. Katara Studios, working in coordination with the newly formed Qatar Film Committee, is backing the film, reflecting Qatar’s growing ambitions in international filmmaking.

Production is slated to begin in Doha in the autumn of 2026, with the team planning to make use of the country’s Screen Production Incentive, which offers cash rebates for qualifying expenditures. Oyelowo has described the adaptation as a version of ‘Othello’ that aims to be both “bitingly modern” and “fearlessly ambitious,” designed to give fuller weight to perspectives beyond Othello’s own. Broccoli has noted that bringing this interpretation of the play to the screen has been a long-term goal and that the contemporary setting opens up new possibilities for exploring Shakespeare’s themes.