A Historic First: ‘Moors’ Set to Bring the Untold Story of Sicily’s 9th Century Conquest to the Big Screen

Nearly 20 years in the making, the sweeping sword and sandals epic drama puts black heroes at the center of their own legend.

LOS ANGELES – A new feature film chronicling the Moorish conquest of Sicily is now in development, bringing to life a powerful and often overlooked chapter of Black and Mediterranean history.

“Moors” follows an eager, young warrior named Tariq in 827 A.D. as he and a tight-knit band of black soldiers are lured into war by a beguiling, exiled general looking to settle the score against the Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire. To defeat the wretched Romans, Tariq and his friends must sacrifice themselves to change the face of Europe, forevermore bringing a new culture to the continent and beginning two centuries of Moorish rule in Sicily.

Nearly 20 years in the making, “Moors” is a long-standing passion project for award-winning filmmaker Damien Douglas, who sees the film as both epic spectacle and cultural restoration.

“We’re not just making a film—we’re opening the gates to a world that audiences have never been invited into at this scale,” Douglas says. “This is a sweeping, mythic, sword and sandals epic where Black heroes stand at the center of their own legend, not on the margins of someone else’s story.”

Douglas envisions “Moors” as the foundation for a bold historical franchise—one that honors documented history while embracing cinematic imagination. “For generations, epics about Europe have largely erased the African forces who helped shape it. Our goal is to present a saga that is visually grand, emotionally powerful, and historically grounded—giving a new generation heroes who reflect the true diversity of the past.”

Roel Reiné, whose credits include TV series “Halo” and “Black Sails” and movies “Classified”and “Hard Target 2,” is attached to direct from a script by Emmy-nominated writer Chaz Hawkins (“Fallout”).

Douglas will produce under his Movies By Misfits banner, alongside Hawkins and Matt Macur (“The Dutchman”). Douglas is also overseeing casting for “Moors,” with principal photography planned for the third quarter of 2026 in Sicily and Tunisia.

Douglas is an award-winning writer and producer whose films have been released in theaters nationwide and featured on major streaming platforms including Netflix, Hulu, Paramount+, BET, and others. Among his more than 30 career film projects are the 2014 psychological thriller “Supremacy” with Danny Glover, 2020 psychological thriller “Fatale” with Hilary Swank, the 2022 horror thriller “Fear” with Jospeh Sicora. and the 2025 sci-fi action-thriller “War Dawgs” with Michael Beach. His creative reach also extends into television, where he serves as a driving force behind the critically acclaimed docuseries “The Gen Zone,” a political commentary show known for its youthful approach to making current events, national politics, and elections relatable and engaging for Generation Z and millennials.