‘Around the World in 80 Days’ to Restart Production in Romania, South Africa (EXCLUSIVE)
“Around the World in 80 Days,” the David Tennant-starring adaptation of the beloved classic by Jules Verne, is set to resume shooting in Romania and South Africa, Variety has learned. Production was suspended by the coronavirus pandemic in March.
Production restarts next month in Romania before traveling to South Africa, which last week announced that international flights into the country will resume on Oct. 1 for the first time since March. International film production returned to Romania in June.
Tennant (“Broadchurch,” “Dr. Who”) plays explorer Phileas Fogg, who, following an outrageous bet, takes on a challenge to circle the globe in just 80 days. He’s joined on the journey by his valet, Passepartout, played by rising French star Ibrahim Koma (“Je Suis Daddy,” “Mother is Wrong”), and the aspiring journalist Abigail Fix, played by Leonie Benesch (“The Crown”), who jumps at the chance to tell the extraordinary story.
“Around the World in 80 Days” is a Slim Film + Television and Federation co-production, with additional co-production partners Palladium Pictures in South Africa, and Daro Film as associate producer. France Télévisions introduced the project to their Alliance broadcasting partners, Germany’s ZDF and Italy’s RAI, while Seven West Media have backed production and will broadcast the drama in Australia.
The series is a BBC acquisition, set to air in 2021. Federation Entertainment will handle distribution rights to the series.
“We are over the moon to be re-commencing filming on ‘Around the World in 80 Days,’” said Crawford Collins, who is executive producing.
“This project is such a challenging and ambitious series to put together, so it has required a huge amount of support on all fronts to pull it off. We couldn’t have achieved it without our wonderful production team, our stellar cast, our super supportive broadcasters and financiers, the inventiveness of our directors, and the ingenuity of our wonderful writing team led by Ashley Pharoah,” said Collins.
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