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Caesar is an upcoming 2018 epic historical drama film directed by Michael Mann, written by John Orloff, and starring Rupert Friend in the title role of Julius Caesar, alongside Russell Crowe, Casey Affleck, Tom Hardy, Amrita Acharia and Monica Bellucci. It is loosely based on the book Caesar, Life of a Colossus, written by British historian Adrian Goldsworthy.

It is scheduled to be released on 6 April 2018.

Plot
In 52 B.C., Roman general Julius Caesar leads the Roman army to victory against the Gallic tribes in the Battle of Alesia. With the war in Gaul concluded, Caesar's generals believe it's finally time to retire and return to Rome but Caesar is wary and warns them that there is always someone left to fight. Two of his generals, Decimus and Titus Labienus, are visibly concerned with this proclamation.

33 years earlier, a gravely ill Caesar is taken to his uncle's estate in northern Italy when Sulla takes control of Rome with his army and declares himself dictator. He recovers but must cope with his political career being cut short and his father's name still being held in disrepute. One morning Caesar's sister Julia visits to inform him that their mother has convinced Sulla to pardon him if he agrees to divorce his wife, Cornelia. Despite the warnings of his uncle and sister, who believe he will be killed if he disobeys Sulla, Caesar refuses the offer and instead decides to make a name for himself in the army. On his way across the Aegean sea, Caesar is kidnapped by pirates who intend to ransom him for money. He is insulted by the meager reward they plan to ask for him and demands that they raise it. However, when the Roman crew sent with the message of the ransom don't return, the pirates plan to kill him. Caesar bargains to fight one of them for an extra day and wins. However he has an epileptic attack and the pirates believe him worthless, deciding to throw him in the sea; but just before they do the Roman boat returns with the money and they let Caesar go. He returns to their hideout with a legion and has them crucified, giving the money they had extorted to the troops.

After Sulla's death, Caesar is allowed to return to Rome and upon arriving home he finds that Cornelia has become very ill. When Cornelia dies from her illness, Caesar swears at her funeral that he will make Rome a better place to live in which worries Pompey and Crassus who agree they need to watch him or use him. Around this time the same pirates who held him captive are cutting off the grain supply. The senate send Pompey to deal with the problem after Caesar convinces them that he will not take the city with his army like Sulla did. Later Caesar swears to his mother that he will make a name for himself.

The day after the Battle of Alesia, Caesar accepts the surrender of King Vercingetorix and receives news that his daughter, married to Pompey with whom he shares power with in Rome, has died in childbirth. A blood tie broken between them, Caesar orders a new wife be found for Pompey. At his request, his nephew Octavian instructs his sister Octavia to marry Pompey by first divorcing her husband Marcellus despite Octavia's protests that they are deeply in love. Octavian then presents Octavia to Pompey at a party and offers her for premarital relations, which Pompey takes advantage of. In the Roman Senate, Cato moves that Caesar be stripped of his command and recalled to Rome to answer charges of misusing his office and illegal warmongering. Pompey, as sole Consul present, vetoes the motion, insisting in trusting Caesar. At the theater that night, Scipio introduces his daughter Cornelia Metella to Pompey as a prospective wife, while Cato warns him that he must ally against Caesar before it is too late. Pompey again asserts that Caesar means no harm, although privately, he is troubled by Caesar's rising prestige and power.

Mark Antony informs Caesar that Labienus has returned to Rome to join Pompey which Caesar takes as adequate proof of Pompey's hostility. Back in Rome, Pompey receives the head of Crassus who was killed in battle and a note from Caesar informing him of his next move, to winter the 13th Legion at Ravenna on the Italian border, in preparation for pressing his rights to the Consulship. Pompey breaks all ties with Caesar and takes Cornelia as his wife. Caesar sends Antony back to Rome to represent his interests as Tribune of the Plebs, which gives him veto power in the Senate. Caesar's political enemies, led by Pompey, plan to pass a motion in the Senate that would set an ultimatum for Caesar to surrender his command, or be declared a public enemy. Pompey enlists the help of the reluctant Cicero. Pompey wants the motion to pass by a large majority, so that Caesar will see that he is isolated and has no political supporters. However, Pompey also wants the motion to be immediately vetoed by Caesar's ally Mark Antony so that the blame for any subsequent escalation would rest with Caesar. The motion is passed but a brawl erupts on the Senate floor and Mark Antony's veto is not recorded, nor is the session formally adjourned. Pompey is taken by surprise, and arranges for the Senate session to be continued the next day so that the tribune's veto can be recorded. He also gives orders to his minions that Mark Antony must not be harmed in any way.

Unaware of Pompey's orders and feeling threatened because of his association with Caesar, Mark Antony calls on the soldiers from Caesar's 13th Legion (Legio XIII) for protection. Just as they are marching through a throng of Pompey's supporters, a Gallic slave lunges from the crowd with a knife and attacks Antony. Though the assailant is swiftly cut down, a bloody fight erupts between the two mobs, just as Pompey emerges from the Senate House. Having been declared an enemy of Rome by the Senate, Caesar marches his army south toward Rome, marking the beginning of the civil war. Caesar crosses the Rubicon River with the remainder of his army. Back in Rome, Pompey, Cicero, Cato and Scipio all discuss options as they receive word of Caesar's advancement only being thirty miles from the city. Though they have four legions in Rome, they are either untrained conscripts or are veterans of the Gallic Wars whose loyalty can't be counted upon. They decide a tactical retreat to Corfinium is the best plan of action so that they can rally their legions and retake the city when all is ready. Meanwhile, Caesar's mistress Servilia and her son Marcus Brutus discuss their predicament. Brutus knows that if he stays in the city because of his friendship with Caesar, he effectively declares for Caesar and rebellion. If he leaves with the Senate, he declares for them and the preservation of the Republic. Ultimately, he decides to go with Pompey and the Senate because of his family's history with the politics of Rome. Servilia, on the other hand, is of a different mind. She wants to stay in Rome to be there when Caesar returns in order to rekindle their romance.

Having captured the city, Caesar seems to be in no hurry to pursue Pompey to the coast, instead spending his evenings dallying with Servilia. Mortified, Caesar's wife Calpurnia threatens to divorce him unless he breaks off relations with Servilia. Since he still needs her family's political and financial support, Caesar does so, and Servilia is livid. Caesar prepares to march on Pompey without further ado, and appoints Mark Antony prefect of the city in his absence, despite the latter's protests. Caesar and his army reach the coast to find that they are too late: Pompey has escaped to Greece, no doubt to raise a new army against Caesar.

While Caesar is engaging Pompey's forces in Greece, Antony is administering Rome and pushing through laws on his behalf. Caesar sends an urgent dispatch to Rome, informing Antony that, after Caesar arrived in Greece, Pompey consistently refused battle, evading Caesar's army and gathering the East's legions together. Now, his army outnumbers Caesar's ten to one, and Caesar is retreating. He orders Antony to set sail for Greece with the 13th Legion as quickly as possible. In Greece, Pompey's army has Caesar pinned down, and outnumbers his forces 3 to 1 as Antony arrives with the 13th Legion. Grimly, Caesar and Antony decide they have no choice but to make what will probably be their last stand from where they are. In Pompey's camp, his officers consider the war all but over. Pompey knows that they need only wait, and starvation and weariness will cause Caesar's troops to desert. However, as predicted by Caesar, the politicians in the camp, led by Cato, want a decisive victory and pressure Pompey to attack. Cato and Scipio urge Pompey to crush Caesar in a final battle, reminding him of his reputation as a war hero. Pompey eventually gives in and agrees to attack Caesar. In the ensuing battle, Caesar's forces inflict a devastating defeat on Pompey.

After the battle, Pompey, Cato and Scipio resolve to retreat to Africa to continue the war with Pompey sailing for Alexandria in Egypt while Brutus and Cicero decide to surrender to Caesar, who welcomes them back with open arms. Arriving in Alexandria with his family, Pompey is promptly assassinated by Roman mercenaries now serving in the Egyptian army.

Cast

 * Rupert Friend as Julius Caesar
 * Russell Crowe as Pompey Magnus
 * Casey Affleck as Marcus Brutus
 * Tom Hardy as Mark Antony
 * Amrita Acharia as Cleopatra
 * Monica Bellucci as Servilia
 * Guy Henry as Cato
 * John Goodman as Cicero
 * Jack Gleeson as Octavian
 * Faye Marsay as Octavia
 * Christopher Eccleston as Cassius
 * Stellan Skarsgård as Crassus

Development
On 5 February 2016 it was reported that Tom Hanks' production company Playtone had acquired the rights to Caesar, a spec script by Anonymous screenwriter John Orloff about the life of Julius Caesar. On 19 March 2016 it was reported that Michael Mann was in talks to direct and co-produce the film alongside Hanks and his producing partner Gary Goetzman. On 14 April 2016 The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Rupert Friend had been cast to play Caesar. On 6 September 2016 it was reported that Universal Pictures would release the film on 6 April 2018, with Russell Crowe, Casey Affleck, Tom Hardy, Amrita Acharia and Monica Bellucci also joining the cast.

Filming
Principal photography commenced on 23 May 2017 in the Italian countryside on Cinecittà studios' six sound stages in Rome. A collection of massive sets in Cinecittà studios' back lots comprised an elaborate "period reconstruction" of sections of ancient Rome. It was a huge undertaking, with an international crew of 350, and more than 50 local Italian interns. The production is regarded as one of the most expensive in the history of film. Funding was generously employed to recreate an impressively detailed set featuring a number of Roman Villas, the Forum, and a vast slum area of the ancient city of Rome. A significant part of this set was later destroyed by a fire that burned down a portion of the Cinecittà Studios after filming had finished.

Filming for the Battle of Alesia took place outside Chaux-des-Crotenay, France, the real historical site of the battle. A replica of about one-third of Caesar's fortifications around Alesia was built, to a height of twelve feet (3.5 meters), mostly from plaster and plywood (the other two-thirds and remaining height were added digitally). Avoiding the use of computer-generated imagery, cardboard cut-out props of soldiers and military equipment were employed to create the illusion of a large army.

Music
On 12 November 2016 it was announced that Alexandre Desplat would score the film.