The 33, the upcoming film about the Chilean mining accident that left 33 men trapped underground for 69 days, has promised to assemble an ensemble cast, and thus far it has done a pretty solid job doing so. Martin Sheen and Rodrigo Santoro have all been announced as being part of the new movie, and today Variety has learned that yet another star has been added to the project's ranks.
Antonio Banderas, who will soon be seen in Pedro Almodóvar's comedy I'm So Excited, has landed a part in The 33 playing Mario Sepulveda, one of the trapped miners who earned the nickname “Super Mario.” According to the trade, the film will be based on the true events, which occurred in 2010, and tell the story of both the miners stuck a half mile beneath the Earth and "the international effort to rescue them." Mikko Alanne and Jose Rivera penned the screenplay for the movie, which will be directed by Girl in Progress' Patricia Riggen. International sales are currently being handles at the Cannes Film Festival and plans are to start production this fall in Chile.
Banderas seems to be strangely drawn to the number 33, as he is also currently set to star as Pablo Picasso in the drama 33 Days, but that's not all he has on his upcoming slate. In February it was announced that he would be returning to the director's chair to make Akil, starring his wife Melanie Griffith, and later this year we will see him in Robert Rodriguez's Machete Kills, and (possibly) Terrence Malick's Knight of Cups.
