‘Lord of War’ sequel, starring Nicolas Cage to be shot in Morocco in 2024

The sequel to the 2005 Nicolas Cage film “Lord of War” is to be filmed in Morocco next year, according to a report yesterday by showbiz magazine Variety.

The Hollywood star will be reprising his role as arms dealer Yuri Orlov in the upcoming “Lords of War.” The critically-acclaimed prequel was based on several real-life international arms traders, including the notorious Russian “Merchant of Death” Viktor Bout, the inspiration behind Cage’s character.

The report stated that Karim Debbagh, of the Tangier-based Kasbah Films, has secured “a raft of U.S. and U.K. projects that will lens in Morocco, including ‘Lords of War,’ the Sequel to ‘Lord of War,’ starring Nicolas Cage as the world’s most notorious arms dealer.”

Debbagh was attending the Marrakech Film Festival and spoke of the sequel, which is expected to start shooting over 40 days from March. He is currently scouting locations across the North African country.

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“We’re trying to cover four or five African countries, such as Libya, Egypt, Senegal and Mali and several countries in the Middle East, and we’ve almost found everything in Morocco,” he said.

“Casablanca itself is so diverse,” Debbagh explained, “that you find areas that look like Senegal and others that are very luxurious like a California neighbourhood, and if you’re looking for places that look similar to Libya, Yemen or Syria, you can find them in and around Marrakech.”

The film crew will consist of between 400 to 500 people primarily from the US and Britain, however Debbagh mentioned that “The crew members in Morocco have become so well trained in recent years thanks to all the big movies that have come here to film and also the great schools that have opened and helped bolster this younger generation.”

Morocco’s southern regions, near Ouarzazate, have been popular filming locations in the past, which saw the likes of “Lawrence of Arabia” and “The Mummy” being shot there. Most recently, the much-anticipated sequel to Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator” was partially filmed across Morocco.

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