Colin Firth andBen Kingsley have been cast in Doug Lefler's upcoming Fall of the Roman Empireadventure and Dino De Laurentiis presentation The Last Legion.

Martha De Laurentiis and Raffaella De Laurentiis will produce the project inpartnership with Quinta Communications' Tarak Ben Ammar and Britishco-producers Chris Curling and Phil Robertson of Zephyr Films.

Principal photography is set to begin on Aug 8 in Tunisia and Slovakia on theproject, which follows the fortunes of the 12-year-old Romulus Augustus, thelast Roman emperor who rules briefly before he is banished to the fortressisland of Capri.

After engineering an escape from exile he flees to Britannia in the hope offinding the fabled Dragon Legion to help him make a last stand for Rome, and inso doing becomes the king who launched the Arthurian legend.

Firth will play the youngster's ally and heroic legionnaire Aurelius andKingsley will portray his wise teacher and advisor Abrosinus.

Firth will next be seen later this yearopposite Emma Thompson in Working Title's comedy Nanny McPhee, while Kingsley next appears as Fagin in RomanPolanski's Oliver Twist and inPaul McGuigan's crime thriller Lucky Number Slevin.

Dino and Martha De Laurentiis, Tarak Ben Ammar andChris Curling and Phil Robertson are currently in Italy filming Decameron:Angels And Virgins, starring HaydenChristensen, Mischa Barton and Tim Roth.

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