Inside ‘Desert Warrior,’ The Delayed Saudi Epic With Anthony Mackie

Desert Warrior was unveiled in 2021 as a rallying cry for Saudi Arabian filmmaking. Starring Captain America’s Anthony Mackie and Oscar-winner Sir Ben Kingsley, the $150M epic was set up by Riyadh media giant MBC to project a vision of historic Arabia to the world, inspire a modern generation of local storytellers, and entice other Hollywood blockbusters to run their hands through the Gulf’s golden sands.

A cast and crew of hundreds gathered in searing heat for the production helmed by Rupert Wyatt, the respected British director who reinvigorated 20th Century’s Planet of the Apes franchise. Word soon spread of Wyatt’s spectacular footage and stirring turns from Mackie and Aiysha Hart, the movie’s heroine.  

Yet three years on from shooting in Saudia Arabia, Desert Warrior remains something of a mirage. Crew members have been posting throwback photos on Instagram and openly speculating about whether the movie will ever see the lithe of day as MBC has not yet delivered on its stated ambition of a festival premiere and theatrical release. 

Sources say a final cut is yet to be locked by Wyatt, who exited and then returned to the project amid original fissures. A screen test revealed Desert Warrior’s disconnect with audiences and a handful of major U.S. studios were unconvinced about an earlier version of the movie. Deeper questions have been asked about Western creatives being entrusted with a historical story about the Middle East, while buyers raised concerns about the movie’s optics after the October 7 attack on Israel.

Those tasked with shepherding Desert Warrior acknowledge that sand has gummed up the movie’s gears. But they remain confident that Saudi Arabia’s substantial cinema swing is back on track and will deliver a worthy spectacle for Arab and American audiences alike. Based on conversations with more than a dozen people, this is the inside story of Desert Warrior’s troubled trek to the screen — and why it remains a tantalizing prospect for the region. 

A Herculean Undertaking 

Desert Warrior is the story of a pre-Islamic battle between Arab tribes and the Persian-Sasanian Empire in what is now southern Iraq. It follows Arabian Princess Hind (Hart), who refuses to become the concubine of evil Emperor Kisra (Kingsley). After escaping into the unforgiving desert, Hind puts her trust in the mysterious Bandit (Mackie) as she rallies fractious tribes to take on Kisra’s enormous army. The climactic battle has been flatteringly compared to the epic Pelennor Fields confrontation in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.  

The movie’s title is ambiguous about its titular character. Road to Perdition writer David Self’s original script put Mackie’s Bandit at the center of the story, but later redrafts by Wyatt and Erica Beeney (Captive State) shifted the focus to Hind, who they wanted to be an empowered female protagonist. It is a potential breakout role for British actress Hart, who has built her reputation in TV series including BBC hit Line of Duty. Reps for Mackie, Hart, and Kinglsey declined to comment on the fortunes of Desert Warrior. 

Desert Warrior was the biggest project ever mounted by ​MBC Studios, the MBC Group production arm then run by Peter Smith. It was also the first ​​international feature hosted by Neom Media, the filmmaking facility in Neom, the futuristic city by the Red Sea. Producer Jeremy Bolt, best known for his work on the Resident Evil franchise, says it was unlike anything he had previously attempted. “The film was very challenging to make, the hardest of my career,” he tells Deadline. “We were shooting a battle-orientated period epic in beautiful but harsh desert locations. There was nothing there: no infrastructure, no crew, and no equipment. We had to bring everything in and often from other countries. The effort from the director, cast, and crew was herculean.” 

Wyatt’s command of the grueling 2021 shoot was praised by his crew. On-set insiders say Saudi production hub Neom Media was effectively laying the infrastructure for an entire industry on the budget of Desert Warrior. These insiders recall equipment getting stuck at Saudi border control, laborers building roads to transport equipment, and crew members being hired from all over the world because of the absence of a skilled local workforce. Producers even constructed a soundstage using a giant tent to film interior scenes.

A Neom spokesperson says its facilities have improved since Desert Warrior’s shoot, with more than 40 productions taking advantage of resources including six soundstages. A recent setback, however, resulted in Neom Media boss Wayne Borg being replaced after The Wall Street Journal published recordings of him making alleged inappropriate comments about migrant workers. Borg has not commented.

For all the drawbacks of the desert, Deadline can reveal that Desert Warrior’s delay has been caused by post-production issues, not least wrangling over the movie’s tone, pacing, and length between Wyatt and his paymasters. The original differences were significant enough for Wyatt to officially exit the project for months, though both sides stress that the issues are now in the rear view mirror.

Wyatt declined to comment. MBC says it holds “great pride and enthusiasm” for Desert Warrior and the movie will “soon be ready” for release. “The amount of hard work, creativity, and passion poured into this project is truly commendable, and it reflects in the quality of the film,” a spokesperson adds. 

Creative Differences

There are conflicting narratives about exactly how the relationship between MBC and Wyatt broke down, but events last year proved pivotal to Desert Warrior’s journey. In February 2023, MBC installed former Amazon Studios executive Christina Wayne as managing director of its production unit. Arriving more than a year after the shoot, the prominent Hollywood executive, who developed shows including Mad Men and Breaking Bad, also brought in Tár producer Alexandra Milchan to assist shepherd Desert Warrior on a consultancy basis. Wayne and Milchan declined to comment. The likes of MBC CEO Sam Barnett and chairman Sheik Waleed al-Ibrahim were also involved in decision-making.

During spring 2023, MBC wanted Wyatt to reduce Desert Warrior’s 155-minute run time by around 20% to fulfill contractual obligations. Disagreements about the film’s tone were also said to be part of conversations at this time. A source privy to the discussions says Wyatt wanted to deliver a nuanced, authored movie, while MBC had more of a Braveheart-style vision for the picture. All sides assert that they only had the movie’s best interests at heart.

Some say Wyatt was reluctant to make changes and quit Desert Warrior, others argue that he reduced the film’s length but was still effectively fired. Both sides accept original differences resulted in Wyatt being benched, though he remained in contact with MBC during his time on the sidelines.

Reflecting on this period, producer Bolt says Wyatt’s initial 155-minute cut was “long but very cinematic.” He adds that the director is now “completing a shorter version of his original cut,” which will be under two hours long but will stay true to his “strong and singular vision.”

In July 2023, an unfinished version of Desert Warrior underwent audience testing in Las Vegas. Those briefed on the research say that Desert Warrior only held the interest of 25% of those surveyed. Moviegoers said the film dragged, the pacing was bothersome, and that some failed to grasp the motivations of Princess Hind and Bandit. This was despite Wyatt returning to Saudi Arabia in February 2023 (prior to him exiting the film) to shoot additional scenes that would assist illuminate the backstory of Mackie’s character. “Confusion loomed large, not only at the beginning but further into the film, deflating overall responses to the story and embracement of the key characters,” the research is said to have concluded.  

MBC insiders downplay the testing as being a routine tool to address pacing and clarity. Sources close to the film also point out that plenty of box office hits can fail to resonate with audiences in early research. Nonetheless, it led some to question whether there was an appetite for a Western interpretation of an Arab story. The principal cast features few Arab actors, while crew members talk about the dialog being almost Shakespearean in style. The film’s historical accuracy was discussed among MBC executives, while culture clashes were evident at times. For example, two sources say eyebrows were raised about a scene in which a female admirer touches a bead of sweat on Princess Hind’s neck. “The Arabs were not psyched about that,” says a source. MBC’s position is that Hind does not have a love interest in the story. 

Wyatt has distanced himself from the audience testing. The director’s position is that it was not his version of Desert Warrior that was screened in Las Vegas because MBC changed his cut following his exit in April, though others argue that any edits were minimal. Either way, the testing prompted MBC to engage Black Panther: Wakanda Forever editor Kelley Dixon to re-cut Desert Warrior.

Hollywood Reservations

Dixon — who did not respond to requests for comment — is said to have made considerable efforts to revamp the movie, including editing Wyatt’s footage from scratch and adding ADR. There was a feeling among senior MBC executives that Dixon’s version was stronger than the director’s cut. And despite being officially off the picture at this point, Wyatt still provided some original input. AGC Studios, which is selling Desert Warrior for MBC, presented the re-cut version to U.S. studios during intimate “toe dip” screenings in LA in February 2024.

Studios and streamers including Sony Pictures Entertainment and Apple TV+ were said to be uncertain about the movie and offered feedback that echoed the 2023 audience testing. Although Desert Warrior is historical and non-political, there were also concerns about the sensitive timing of the picture amid an escalating conflict in the Middle East. One person says that for some studio chiefs, it felt “a bit too soon after October 7 for a movie involving rampaging Arab tribes.”

There has been other political noise around Desert Warrior. Iranian state media recently published a piece alleging that the film would engage in “controversial historical revisionism” and accusing producers of attempting to provide an Arab interpretation of historic Persia. The attack bemused MBC executives, who say the film has no agenda.

AGC chief executive Stuart Ford is undeterred by the early Hollywood feedback, telling Deadline there is no “shortage of interest” in seeing the final movie among festivals and distributors. “It’s been an epic journey and I think both the filmmakers and MBC have shown tremendous passion and determination,” he adds.

Weeks after the LA screenings, Wayne stepped down from MBC after she was unable to move to Saudi Arabia permanently. In the months following her departure, the version of the movie screened in LA was sidelined and, in a plot twist that surprised some, MBC restored Wyatt. A source close to the director says MBC “begged” him to come back and a deal for him to return was agreed in May. He only stepped back into the edit suite this month after wrapping a separate project.

MBC’s Movie Making Rulebook

The circumstances of Wyatt’s return are disputed. Allies of the director argue that the re-cut was the reason the film failed to sell. Others say that the story remains the one Wyatt filmed and there is only so much that can be altered in post-production. These sources think there is an unwillingness at MBC to recognize that Desert Warrior is not the feature to burnish Saudi Arabia’s movie-making credentials.

It is not the only project on MBC’s books that has found itself in limbo amid a original rethink. There has been speculation in the Saudi filmmaking community that MBC had killed the ambitious, big-budget historical TV series Rise Of The Witches, which was first announced in 2022. Instead, Deadline understands that the ten-part series, originally greenlit for pan-Arab streaming platform Shahid, is being repackaged as a movie for the domestic market. 

Hollywood insiders who have worked with MBC on Desert Warrior often remark on how the studio plays by a different rulebook to Western counterparts, including around budgeting and expectations.

Desert Warrior is said to be millions of dollars over budget, which could be existential for another independent movie, but is closer to a rounding error for MBC given it enjoys funding from the court of Mohammed bin Salman. MBC does not recognize claims the film has overspent, but equally declined to deny there were additional outgoings, including the pick-up shoot in Saudi Arabia last year and Dixon’s editing fee. Deadline wrote in 2021 that the film had a $140M budget, but more recent reporting has cited $150M. 

Desert Warrior’s team wants the film to resonate around the world, but there is also an awareness that the opinion of one man may matter more than most. MBC executives have discussed how Bin Salman’s verdict could impact the company’s funding and that star power may be needed to make a favorable impression on the Crown Prince. At one point this year, bosses discussed paying Morgan Freeman $1M to voiceover the film because they felt it would please the so-called “principal.” One source adds that Desert Warrior’s box office return will not be the only measure of its success.

2025: ‘Desert Warrior’s Year?

Most indie movies of scale are complicated and labyrinthine exercises. Desert Warrior has had its own unique journey, but there remains hope among producers and creatives that it can still bloom amid shifting sands. MBC’s position is that it is now fully aligned with Wyatt and that his version of Desert Warrior is un-tested with buyers. There is confidence that the film can find a home in the first quarter of 2025, even if it is not yet with a major distributor. 

“We have always held a strong belief in the potential of this movie, and it is gratifying to see that it has evolved into an experience that we, as a group, are genuinely proud to share,” an MBC spokesperson says. “The innovative storytelling techniques, riveting performances, and meticulous attention to detail promise a unique and memorable cinematic journey. We have high confidence that Desert Warrior will exceed expectations and offer a viewing experience unlike any other.” 

Bolt sums up the involvement of MBC like this: “At a time when film funding is extremely scarce, MBC are a welcome player and I sincerely hope despite this very challenging production they will continue to support film endeavors.”