Oscar nominated Italian star Giancarlo Giannini has joined James Franco, Bella Thorne and Mike Tyson in the cast of Italian feature Bunny-Man, we can reveal.

Tatiana Luter is also joining the cast on the production, which is due to begin a new phase of filming in Rome next week.

Italian stage and screen veteran Giannini will play Judge Gladwell and Luter his wife Luise. The film tells the story of the double life of a multimillionaire hip-hop artist known as Bunny-Man (his stage name), whose fame and public persona mask a web of pain, revenge, and private justice. His seemingly perfect life is shattered by the tragic suicide of his sister, a consequence of a brutal sexual assault. Bunny-Man then embarks on a mission to expose those responsible for this horrific crime and confront a corrupt system. The characters of Judge Gladwell and his wife Luise are said to be central characters responsible for the corruption in the narrative.

Debora Nascimento, Meredith Mickelson, and Lexi Coons also star in the film, which is due to be released in 2026. The identity of the director is somewhat mysterious but is listed as ‘Bunny-Man’.

Giannini won the Cannes Best Actor award for his performance in Love And Anarchy in 1973 and received an Oscar nomination for Seven Beauties (1975). He is a four-time David Di Donatello Award winner for Best Actor with credits also including Man On Fire, Quantum Of Solace and Casino Royale. He received a Hollywood Walk Of Fame star in 2023. Luter recently wrapped production on Maserati: The Brothers.

“I’m proud to welcome two outstanding Italian performers to the cast—Oscar-nominated actor Giancarlo Giannini and Tatiana Luter, who also stars in Maserati and brings both elegance and on-screen presence. Their addition further elevates an ambitious international project like Bunny-Man, which, while keeping the pace of a thriller, tackles a deep theme with intelligence and powerful narrative impact,” said producer Andrea Iervolino, who is producing with Emanuele Moretti.