EXCLUSIVE: I, Robot, The Crow, Dark City director Alex Proyas is set to direct The Hakim, inspired by late Bahrain leader Shaikh Isa bin Ali Al Khalifa who led his country through an immense period of change over the course of 63 years from 1869 to 1932.

Billed as an historical epic, the film is being developed, produced and financed by PG Entertainment UK, which plans to shoot the production in multiple locations including Bahrain and London.

The screenplay is written by Peter C. Nelson and Fahar Faizaan, who also serve as producers on the project. Casting is underway, led by Dan Hubbard.

The storyline will Shaikh Ali from his time as a young ruler who inherits Bahrain’s throne at 19-years-old following the death of his father and must hold his family and nation together amid piracy, the collapse of the pearling economy, natural disaster, and the discovery of oil that will reshape the future of the region.

“What drew me to The Hakim was the opportunity to tell an epic story rooted in a part of the world whose history has rarely been explored at this scale,” said Proyas.

“It is a story of power, family, faith, survival and transformation, but also of a leader striving to hold people together as the world around him changes. Bahrain offers an extraordinary cinematic canvas, and we are approaching this as a sweeping, immersive world of desert, sea, storms, palaces, pearl divers and political intrigue.”

Faizaan said: The Hakim is an ambitious and inspiring story that has never been told at this scale. It is the story of a leader navigating the most profound transformation in his nation’s history. Our ambition is to create a defining work of cinema. One that is deeply rooted in Bahrain’s history but speaks universally to the choices that shape nations and the responsibility of leadership in times of change.”

Nelson added: “This unique production brings together leading studios and technical experts from across the world to help bring a thrilling chapter of Bahraini history to life in a story that is universally appealing and will resonate with people all across the world.”