– Théo Christine, François Civil, Vincent Cassel, Omar Sy and Galatéa Bellugi are headlining this SRAB Films and Chapter 2 production, sold worldwide by Goodfellas
The team behind Dumas : Diable noir on set, with Ladj Ly and Théo Christine in the centre (© Mika Cotellon)
Last week marked the end of the five-month shoot on Dumas : Diable noir, Ladj Ly’s third fiction feature after Les Misérables (boasting 2.18 million admissions in France, awarded the Jury Prize in Cannes and nominated for the Best International Feature Film Oscar, as well as for the César and Lumière Best Film trophies in that same year,) and Les Indésirables (screened in Toronto’s Special Presentations section).
Stealing focus in the cast are Théo Christine (notably seen in Authentik, Vermin and To Live, To Die, To Live Again), François Civil (nominated once for the Best Actor César via Beating Hearts and twice for the Best Supporting Actor trophy, and due to appear in La Troisième main next year), Vincent Cassel (awarded the Best Actor César for the diptych Mesrine: Part 1 – Killer Instinct and nominated for the same trophy a further four times, recently acclaimed for his part in Parallel Tales), Omar Sy (nominated twice for the Best Actor César, which he won for Untouchable, and famous worldwide thanks to the Lupin series) and Galatéa Bellugi (nominated for the Most Promising Actress César via The Apparition and for Best Supporting Actress via Junkyard Dog, and hitting cinemas next year in Le Registre).
Also on board are Steve Tientcheu (a collaborator on the director’s first two features), Alexis Manenti (the winner of the César for Most Promising Actor thanks to Les Misérables and a Lumière Best Actor nominee for The Mohican, likewise warmly received last May in Cannes in Too Many Beasts and Flesh and Fuel), Abdramane Diakité, Jennifer Heylen (Julian, Muganga) and Idir Azougli (nominated for both the César and Lumière Acting Revelation awards via Meteors).
Loosely adapted by Dan Franck, Anne Abitbol and Thomas Bidegain from Salva Rubio and Ruben del Rincón’s three-volume graphic novel, Le Premier Dumas, the screenplay tells the true but little-known story of Thomas Alexandre Davy de La Pailleterie Dumas, who was the son of an enslaved woman and a French nobleman who, during the Revolution, defied fate to become the first Black general in the French army and the father of one of the world’s most famous writers, Alexandre Dumas.
Dumas : Diable noir is produced by Christophe Barral and Toufik Ayadi for SRAB Films (Ladj Ly’s longstanding partners) and by Dimitri Rassam for Chapter 2, in co-production with M6 Films, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Cinéma, Lily Films and Carroussel Studios. Also pre-purchased by Disney+ and Netflix, the feature film (budgeted at 44 M€) enjoys support from the Ile-de-France region and Pictanovo (Hauts-de-France region), and selective CNC support for digital visual effects, to name a few sources. The five-month shoot spanned Paris, Lyon, the Alps, the Oise, Martinique and Morocco, with Julien Poupard (a César nominee in his field for Les Misérables and Forever Young) as director of photography. International sales are being handled by Goodfellas while the film’s release in France will be orchestrated by Pathé from 13 October 2027.
(Translated from French)
