Saudi Arabia’s most ambitious cinematic gamble yet is finally ready for its close-up: News surfaced last week that “Desert Warrior,” a $150 million historical epic filmed entirely in the kingdom and starring Marvel actor Anthony Mackie, is set to premiere on Sept. 28 at the Zurich Film Festival.

The big-budget, Hollywood-style production is Saudi Arabia’s most high-profile film to date, marking a milestone in the kingdom’s push to become a major player in the global entertainment industry. This effort, part of the Vision 2030 economic diversification plan, has seen the government invest heavily in building a cinematic ecosystem from scratch — offering cash rebates, constructing new studios and funding both local and international productions.

Yet “Desert Warrior” has had anything but a smooth journey to the big screen, setting up its debut in Zurich to reveal whether Saudi Arabia’s cinema dreams can translate into box office success.

Details: Filmed in 2021 against the desert backdrops surrounding Neom, the futuristic megacity currently under construction, “Desert Warrior” was conceived as a showcase of Saudi Arabia’s ability to host big-budget productions. Instead, the project became mired in uncertainty. At one point director Rupert Wyatt was reportedly removed, only to be reinstated by MBC Studios, the Saudi-owned company that produced the film.