Desert Warrior
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Rupert Wyatt
Screenplay by
  • David Self
  • Rupert Wyatt
  • Erica Beeney
Story by David Self
Produced by Jeremy Bolt
Starring
  • Anthony Mackie
  • Aiysha Hart
  • Sharlto Copley
  • Ben Kingsley
Cinematography Guillermo Garza
Edited by Richard Mettler
Music by Dan Levy
Production
companies
  • MBC Studios[1]
  • AGC Studios[2]
  • JB Pictures[1]
  • Studio Mechanical[1]
Distributed by
  • Vertical (United States)
  • Empire Entertainment (Saudi Arabia)
Release dates
  • September 28, 2025 (2025-09-28) (Zurich Film Festival)
  • April 24, 2026 (2026-04-24) (United States)
Running time
114 minutes[3]
Countries
  • United States
  • Saudi Arabia
Language English
Budget $150 million[4][5]
Box office $487,848[6]

Desert Warrior is a 2025 historical action film directed by Rupert Wyatt, who co-wrote the screenplay with Erica Beeney and David Self. The film's cast includes Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Sharlto Copley, and Ben Kingsley. The story sees an Arabian princess team up with a bandit to confront a ruthless emperor, who wanted the former to be his concubine.

With a $150 million budget, Desert Warrior is the most expensive film to be produced in Saudi Arabia. The project was intended to revitalize the Saudi film industry, with Saudi crew members receiving training for the production. Filming lasted from September 2021 to February 2022. An extended post-production period, including creative conflicts with Wyatt, contributed to delays in the film's release.

Desert Warrior premiered at the Zurich Film Festival on September 28, 2025, and was theatrically released in the United States on April 24, 2026, by Vertical.

Premise

Set in seventh-century Arabia, amongst the constant feuding between tribes, the ruthless Emperor Kisra wishes to make Princess Hind his concubine. However, she refuses and instead, with the help of a legendary bandit, looks to confront the Emperor, culminating in the Battle of Ze Qar.[7]

Cast

  • Anthony Mackie as Hanzala
  • Aiysha Hart as Princess Hind
  • Sharlto Copley as Jalabzeen
  • Ghassan Massoud as King Numan
  • Sami Bouajila
  • Lamis Ammar
  • Géza Röhrig
  • Ben Kingsley as Emperor Kisra
  • Numan Acar as Ebn Wael

Production

Desert Warrior was announced in November 2021 as a film produced by JB Pictures, AGC Studios, Studio Mechanical, and MBC Studios—the Saudi-backed production arm of MBC.[8] Its story originated from David Self, while the screenplay was written by Self, director Rupert Wyatt and his wife Erica Beeney; Self's original script focused on the male bandit Hanzala, while Wyatt and Beeny rewrote the script to center on Princess Hind.[8][9] Gary Ross provided uncredited rewrites. The cast includes Anthony Mackie and Aiysha Hart as Hanzala and Hind, respectively, alongside Sharlto Copley, Ghassan Massoud, Sami Bouajila, Lamis Ammar, Géza Röhrig, Ben Kingsley, and Numan Acar.[8] It was one of the first major English-language films produced by MBC Studios, and is the largest production to film in Saudi Arabia. MBC saw it as an anchor for the nascent film industry that was being established in the region, where key crewmembers were brought in for the project to effectively train and develop Saudi crews learning about the industry.[10][11] The crew size was approximately 450–500 people each day.[12]

Principal photography began in September 2021 in Neom, Saudi Arabia,[8][13] and it was completed by February 2022.[14] The film had a long post-production period, and it planned to seek buyers in the first quarter of 2024, targeting a film festival debut before a wide theatrical release.[13] In October 2024, it was reported that Wyatt had briefly exited the film due to creative differences, but later returned to finish the editing. Guillermo Garza serves as the cinematographer, Richard Mettler serves as editor, and Dan Levy was the composer for the film.[9]

Release

Desert Warrior premiered at the Zurich Film Festival on September 28, 2025.[5] The film was also screened at Saudi Arabia's 5th Red Sea International Film Festival on December 6 that same year.[15]

In February 2026, Vertical acquired the distribution rights to the film, later scheduling it for a theatrical release in the United States on April 24, 2026.[7][16][17]

Reception

Box office

Desert Warrior was released in 1,010 theatres in North America. It only made $472,111 in its opening weekend (a $467 per theatre average), becoming one of the worst domestic openings in history for a major film.[18]

Critical reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 29% of 17 critics' reviews are positive.[19] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 41 out of 100, based on six critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[20]

Damon Wise of Deadline Hollywood writes that "extraordinary images" were captured by the director and cinematographer, but that the film ultimately turns into "a stodgy, sprawling, feminist, pre-Islamic Gandhi."[21]

References

  1. ^ a b c Aguilar, Carlos (October 2, 2025). "'Desert Warrior' Review: Rupert Wyatt Delivers an Impressive Looking but Otherwise Routine Saudi Epic". Variety. Retrieved March 30, 2026.
  2. ^ Goodfellow, Melanie (November 15, 2021). "MBC teams with JB Pictures, AGC Studios on Saudi shoot 'Desert Warrior'". Screen Daily. Retrieved April 4, 2026.
  3. ^ "Desert Warrior - Zurich Film Festival". Zurich Film Festival. Retrieved October 9, 2025.
  4. ^ Ross, Rafa Sales (December 8, 2023). "Neom's Wayne Borg and Producer Eric Hedayat Discuss 'Desert Warrior' and Sustainability as Key to Saudi's Booming Media Production". Variety. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
  5. ^ a b Kanter, Jake (September 12, 2025). "'Desert Warrior' Finally Sets Festival Premiere At Zurich After Creative Delays On $150M Saudi Epic". Deadline Hollywood.
  6. ^ "Desert Warrior- Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved April 27, 2026.
  7. ^ a b Grobar, Matt (February 11, 2026). "Vertical Acquires Action Film 'Desert Warrior' Starring Aiysha Hart, Anthony Mackie & Ben Kingsley". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 11, 2026.
  8. ^ a b c d Ritman, Alex (November 15, 2021). "Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart to Lead Saudi-Backed Period Epic 'Desert Warrior' From Rupert Wyatt". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on February 14, 2023. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  9. ^ a b Kanter, Jake (October 30, 2024). "Inside Saudi Arabia's Big Cinema Swing 'Desert Warrior,' The Delayed $150M Historical Epic Still Being Readied For Battle". Deadline Hollywood.
  10. ^ Ritman, Alex (November 24, 2021). "MBC Studios' Saudi Arabia Boss on "New Era" as A-List Features Desert Warrior, Kandahar Make History in the Kingdom". The Hollywood Reporter. PMRC.
  11. ^ Lodderhose, Diana (December 8, 2021). "AGC Studios' Stuart Ford Talks Shooting $140M Desert Warrior In KSA: "The Arab-Speaking World Is A Coming Force"". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation.
  12. ^ Lodderhose, Diana (December 2, 2023). "Neom's Wayne Borg Talks Current Productions, Telfaz11 Project Partnership And Company Ethos Of "Making Things Happen" — Red Sea Studio". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation.
  13. ^ a b Wiseman, Andreas (December 4, 2023). "MBC Studios Boss Christina Wayne Talks Strategy & Upcoming Projects Such As Anthony Mackie Starrer 'Desert Warrior' – Red Sea Studio". Deadline Hollywood.
  14. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr (February 2, 2022). "Hot Package: Anthony Mackie & Priyanka Chopra Jonas In Kevin Sullivan Action Spec 'Ending Things'". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on February 3, 2022. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
  15. ^ Communicate Staff (December 4, 2025). "Saudi to showcase ambitious epic Desert Warrior at Red Sea film festival". Communicate Online. Retrieved March 30, 2026.
  16. ^ O'Rourke, Ryan (March 12, 2026). "Anthony Mackie's Massive Historical Epic Finally Gets First Trailer After 5 Years of Delays". Collider. Retrieved March 12, 2026.
  17. ^ Goodfellow, Melanie (March 12, 2026). "'Desert Warrior' Trailer: Saudi Epic To Hit U.S. Screens On April 24". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 12, 2026.
  18. ^ Yin-Poole, Wesley (April 30, 2026). "Anthony Mackie's $150 Million, Saudi-Funded Action Movie Desert Warrior Looks Like One of the Biggest Box Office Flops in History". IGN.
  19. ^ "Desert Warrior (2025) | Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved April 29, 2026.
  20. ^ "Desert Warrior Reviews - Metacritic". www.metacritic.com. Retrieved April 24, 2026.
  21. ^ Wise, Damon (September 28, 2025). "'Desert Warrior' Review: Rupert Wyatt's Long-Gestating Middle Eastern Western Is A Sometimes Stunning But Ultimately Stodgy Would-Be Epic – Zurich Film Festival". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 8, 2025.