Warwick Thornton, a prominent filmmaker in Australia, is set to direct an epic film about Aboriginal warrior Pemulwuy, reports Variety. The makers have cast Jason Clarke (Oppenheimer) and Sam Worthington (Hacksaw Ridge and Avatar) in the film, titled First Warrior. They are yet to reveal the specifics of Clarke and Worthington's characters.
Australia was a British colony in the late 18th century as well. A Bidjigal tribe member, Pemulwuy led a twelve-year-long resistance against people from Great Britain occupying his people's pieces of land. The all-Indigenous core creators of the film include Thornton, screenwriter Jon Bell (Cleverman and The Moogai) and producer-writer Andrew Dillon (Outliers and Le Champion).
Dillon, a descendant of the Gomeroi and Dharug people, is set to produce First Warrior through his banner That’s-A-Wrap Productions. Academy Award-winning scenarist Stuart Beattie is also onboard along with Shana Levine and Phillip Noyce. The makers are seeking actors to play Bennelong, whom Governor Arthur Phillip kidnapped to begin dialogues with the native people of Australia, and Pemulwuy.