Daniel Craig will star opposite Halle Berry in Kings, the indie drama set against the backdrop of the 1992 Los Angeles riots.
Deniz Gamze Erguven, who made Mustang, is directing Kings from her own script in what will be her English-language debut. She’s re-teamed with “Mustang” producer Charles Gillibert.
Craig will portray a loner who lives in South Central Los Angeles and falls in love with Berry’s character. When the riots erupt, he helps Berry in protecting her children from the violence.
The riots started just hours after a jury in suburban Simi Valley acquitted four Los Angeles Police officers of use of excessive force in the videotaped arrest and beating of Rodney King in 1991 following a high-speed chase.
A total of 55 people died during the riots amid looting, assault and arson causing more than $1 billion of property damage.
Kings began selling last last month at Cannes with Berry and Erguven attached. “Mustang” centered on five orphaned teenage sisters in northern Turkey, was nominated for the 2015 Academy Award for best foreign language film.
Craig was last seen as James Bond in “Spectre,” his fourth Bond movie, and it’s unclear if he’ll return for a fifth. He’s starring in Steven Soderbergh’s heist film “Logan Lucky” opposite Channing Tatum, Riley Keough and Adam Driver.
He is signed on to star in the 20-episode Showtime series Purity for producer Scott Rudin and writer-director Todd Field In the Bedroom, Little Children).
