Edgar Ramirez (Che) has signed on to star in French director Olivier Assayas' Ilich: Story of Carlos.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Ramirez will tackle four to five languages for the complex role as the real life "anti-James Bond" who worked for radical Palestinians and groups in Syria, Libya, Iraq and communist Romania.

Film en Stock, Canal Plus and Egoli Tossell are producing the project, which will be released as a feature as well as a three-part TV series.

The film centers on the true story of Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, a Venezuelan-born leftist revolutionary nicknamed Carlos and later Jackal who famously raided the OPEC headquarters in Vienna, Austria, in 1975.

Ilich: Story of Carlos is the reminiscences of the revolutionary, who was manipulated by the secret services of Arabian and eastern countries and founded a worldwide terrorist organization. He ended up ridiculed and alone in exile in Sudan before being picked up by French police. Sanchez is serving a life sentence in France.

Assayas said Ramirez was the right fit for the role because the actor hails from the same place as Sanchez and the two share similarities in build, fluency in many languages and their awareness of complex international politics.

Production is set to begin in January. It will shoot in numerous locations, including France, Germany, Hungary, Austria, Lebanon, Yemen and possibly Sudan.