Full trailer: "Asad" (Lion) — one of the most anticipated Arabic-language films of 2026 — is now in cinemas across the MENA region.
Directed by Mohamed Diab ("Cairo 678," Marvel's "Moon Knight") and starring Mohamed Ramadan, the film tells the story of the Zanj Rebellion — a 14-year uprising of enraged Africans against the Abbasid Caliphate that took place from 869 to 883 CE in what is now southern Iraq.
The Zanj were Africans — from Abyssinia, Sudan, West and Central Africa, and the East African coast — transported and forced to work the region's salt marshes. Their rebellion was the largest revolt of enslaved Africans in the Islamic world, and it has never been told on screen before.
Mohamed Ramadan plays Ali ibn Muhammad al-Persi, the man who led them.
The script was written by Diab and his siblings, Khaled and Sherine Diab.
The cast includes Razane Jammal, Maged El Kedwany, Kamel El Basha, Ali Qassim, and Islam Mubarak.
The film is produced by Good Fellas Media Production with Big Time Fund and Scoop Egypt, distributed regionally by Empire Entertainment, and sold internationally by Mad Solutions.
Budget: approximately $7–8 million — among the largest in Egyptian cinema history.