Rachel Weisz and Max Minghella Are Set for Agora

Rachel Weisz and Max Minghella are set to star in the ancient Egyptian epic Agora, the next film by Alejandro Amenabar.

According to Variety, Agora, Amenabar's second English-language film after The Others starring Nicole Kidman, is set in Roman Egypt in the fourth century A.D. Weisz plays astrologer-philosopher Hypatia of Alexandria, who fights to save the collected wisdom of the ancient world. Her slave Davus (Minghella) is torn between his love for his mistress and the possibility of gaining his freedom by joining the rising tide of Christianity.

Oscar Isaac, Ashraf Barhom, Michael Lonsdale, Rupert Evans and Homayoun Ershadi round out the cast.

Production is set to begin next week in Malta.