Trade mag Variety is reporting that Rachel Weisz will star in ancient Egyptian epic "Agora", a sweeping drama/adventure directed by Alejandro Amenabar ("The Others").
Amenabar will direct from his own script, jointly penned with oft-collaborator Mateo Gil, and is now preparing to call the shots out in Malta where principal photography starts on Monday.
"Agora" is set in Roman Egypt in the fourth century A.D., Weisz is set to play the astrologer-philosopher Hypatia of Alexandria who takes it upon herself to preserve the collected wisdom of the ancient world (a heady task one would think?!). Meanwhile her slave Davus (played by Max Minghella) finds himself torn between his growing love for his mistress and the rising tide of Christianity that threatens to change their way of life forever.