LA and Paris-based Vendôme Pictures, producer of Oscar Best Picture winner Codahas unveiled the cast for the previously announced drama Ibelinbased on the true story of disabled Norwegian gamer Mats Steen.
Charlie Plummer (The Long Walk), Graham (Adolescence)), Toni Collette (Little Miss Sunshine), Isabela Merced (The Last of Us), Maisy Stella (My Old Ass) and Anthony Hopkins (The Father) have signed to star.
Born with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), which gradually saw him lose control of his limbs, Steen connected with the outside world through the gaming world, where he was admired by thousands for his humor, kindness, and courage.
Behind the screen, he was living with a degenerative muscular disease that slowly took away his body, but never his spirit. At home, his loving family feared he was withdrawing from the world, but they would later discover that quite the opposite was happening.
The film takes its title from Steen’s heroic alter ego ‘Ibelin’ in the World of Warcraft online game.
The production, which was first announced last year, sees Vendôme Pictures re-team with French mini-major Pathé, its partner on Coda.
Morten Tyldum, who was previously Oscar-nominated for best director for The Imitation Game in 2015 he is directing.
The screenplay is by BAFTA nominee Ilaria Bernardini (Citadel: Diana), with current revisions by Oscar nominee Hossein Amini (Drive, The Wings of a Dove) and based on the blog “Musings of Life” which Steen wrote until shortly before his death at the age of 25 in 2014.
Vendôme Pictures’ Philippe Rousselet and Fabrice Gianfermi are producing alongside Jérôme Seydoux at Pathé and Tyldum and Guri Neby for Neby-Tyldum AS. Vendôme and Pathé are financing the film.
Sarah Finn (Everything Everywhere All at Once, Crash) is the casting director and serves as an executive producer.
Black Bear is representing international sales rights and will be introducing to buyers at the upcoming American Film Market. CAA Media Finance represents the domestic rights.
Principal photography will take place in Europe in Spring/Summer 2026.
“Ibelin is a sensational story which will be told by a remarkable group of storytellers, first and foremost, Morten, who has a rare ability to evoke emotions with films like The Imitation Game and epics such as Passengers and Silo,” says Rousselet.
“We have assembled a formidable cast, and with our frequent collaborators at Pathé, and the team at Black Bear, are confident this will be a film that will resonate with buyers and audiences everywhere.”
Tyldum is represented by CAA, Anonymous Content, Vendôme and Casarotto Ramsay & Associates. Plummer is represented by Gersh, Untitled, and Peikoff Mahan. Graham is represented by Independent Talent Group and Link Entertainment. Collette is represented by CAA, United Management and Finley Management. Merced is represented by CAA and Peikoff Mahan. Stella is represented by CAA, Entertainment 360 and McKuin Frankel Whitehead. Hopkins is represented by Independent Talent Group and UTA. Bernardini is represented by Casarotto Ramsay & Associates. Amini is represented by WME.
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