EXCLUSIVE: Here’s some welcome news for fans of hit mafia crime series Gomorrah: producers of the small-screen drama are lining up an origins story feature film based on cult character Ciro Di Marzio, aka ‘l’Immortale’.

Marco D’Amore, who plays Di Marzio in the series, will star in and direct the Cattleya-produced movie, which currently has a working title of Immortale (Immortal). D’Amore has also recently directed episodes of the fourth season of the show.

Gomorrah writer Leonardo Fasoli (who is also lead writer on Cattleya’s large-canvas series Zero Zero Zero) is currently working on the script for the Italian-language film, which producers are hoping to shoot in the first quarter of 2019. Vision Distribution, the JV between Sky Italia and a group of leading local producers, is expected to release in Italy. The same company has theatrically released Gomorrah in the territory and Sky Italia carries the series on TV.

While plot details are being largely kept under wraps, the movie is expected to chart the formative years of Di Marzio who survived a deadly earthquake as an infant and goes on to become a feared mob hitman and mentor to mob kingpin Gennaro Savastano. For my money, the ruthless but tortured assassin is one of the most compelling small screen characters of recent years. Additional casting remains unknown at this stage.

Cattleya producer Riccardo Tozzi told us, “Marco did a great job directing multiple episodes of Gomorrah series four. This movie will look at how Ciro Di Marzio became ‘Immortale’ and his approach to the Savastano clan. It’s important to remember that the same 1980 earthquake he survived as a child helped spawn the rebirth of the Camorra in Campania so there is a parallel in their stories.”

Acclaimed Italian-language drama Gomorrah, based on Roberto Saviano’s story about the Neapolitan mafia, has sold to 190 markets for Beta and is Sky Italia’s flagship show at home where it even outperforms Game Of Thrones.

Season four is likely to air in Europe next spring but U.S. viewers are still waiting to find out when and where they’ll be able to watch series three, which I understand has been caught up in the Weinstein Company bankruptcy and sale to Lantern Capital. TWC had U.S. rights to the third series. A resolution is expected in coming months.

D’Amore is currently producing Italian coming-of-age comedy Dolcissime and will next be seen in feature Drive Me Home with Jennifer Ulrich, Lous Castel and Vinicio Marchioni.