Nordisk Film’s screen version of Jussi Adler-Olsen’s crime book will star Ulrich Thomsen and Zaki Youssef as buddy cops Carl Mørck and Assad.
Thomsen (Brothers, Face to Face) and Youssef (Sons of Denmark) will reprise the roles previously held by Nikolaj Lie Kaas and Fares Fares in the first four films in the Department Q crime series produced by Zentropa. Each instalment topped the Danish box office and the last film. Purity of Vengeance made history as the highest Danish grossing film ever.
The Marco Effect is based on Jussi Adler-Olsen’s fifth book in the Department Q series. It will reunite Nordisk Film producer Mikael Rieks, director Martin Zandvliet and writer Anders August who teamed up on Zandvliet’s Applause, and A Funny Man.
Rieks and Zandvliet worked most recently together on the Oscar-nominated drama Land of Mine. Newcomer Thomas Porsager is co-writer of The Marco Effect.
The film focuses on a 12-year-old gypsy boy named Marco who is on the run. He is the key to uncovering a story of multinational corruption on government funds earmarked for development aid in Africa. In a race against time, Carl Mørck and Assad find themselves confronted by cynical, powerful ringleaders and a brutal gang who are also on the hunt for Marco.
The Marco Effect is co-produced by Germany’s Peter Naderman of Nadcon Film. Principal photography is set to start in January 2020, with an anticipated local premiere in October 2020.
Nordisk Film is planning to make six films featuring detective Carl Mørck and his assistant Assad. “Jussi Adler-Olsen’s Department Q series has spellbound millions of readers across the world, and we are proud that he has put his trust in us at Nordisk Film in turning The Marco Effect into a high-quality thriller-drama with international scope”, said Rieks.
Best-selling author Jussi Adler-Olsen who describes The Marco Effect as “an attempt to show how corruption and greed affect the Western World” said he feels “the story is more relevant now than ever”. The author has lined up a total of ten books in the series.
