Benicio del Toro is in talks to play Colombian cocaine trafficker Pablo Escobar in Paradise Lost. The romantic thriller is written and directed by Andrea de Stefano and produced by Dimitri Rassam’s Chapter 2.

Here’s the plot, by way of Variety:

“Inspired by true events, pic turns on Nick, a young surfer who visits his brother in Colombia and falls madly in love with a beautiful local girl called Maria. Their romance seems idyllic until he meets her uncle, Escobar.”

Why did Rassam want del Toro for Escobar?

“Del Toro is one of the rare actors with enough charisma and range to play such a multi-faceted character as Escobar, who could be wonderfully charming yet dangerous and menacing.”

Filming on Paradise Lost begins in March in Panama.

SOURCE: Variety