A nation forgets too quickly. That's the charge echoing through Joe Wright's Mussolini: Son of the Century, a series that doesn't whisper its warning—it blasts it through a techno pulse courtesy of Tom Rowlands from The Chemical Brothers. The official trailer has just dropped, and it's as stylishly unnerving as anything Wright has mounted since Darkest Hour.
The project first surfaced at the 2024 Venice Film Festival, where it premiered in the festival's series lineup, before arriving on SkyTV in January 2025 and rolling out in Italy the following month. Now, after a year of murmurs and critical attention, MUBI will release the series in the US, Canada, Latin America, Turkey, and India on September 10, 2025, with weekly episodes.
Based on Antonio Scurati's Premio Strega–winning novel, the series traces Benito Mussolini's grotesque ascent—from the ragtag Fasci Italiani di Combattimento to one of the most oppressive dictatorships in modern history. Luca Marinelli (The Eight Mountains, Martin Eden) slips into Mussolini's skin with frightening ease, the sort of performance that feels less like imitation and more like possession.
Wright, who has made a career out of reinventing literary material (Pride & Prejudice, Atonement) and political histories (Darkest Hour), approaches Mussolini with sharp theatricality. The staging—filmed entirely at Rome's Cinecittà Studios—leans into shadow and spectacle, a half-nightmare that mirrors both the past and the present. And yes, the resonance is impossible to ignore. “A time always comes when a lost populace turns to simple ideas.” The line hits like a hammer. Italy in the 1920s. America now. Maybe everywhere.
The screenplay, crafted by Stefano Bises (Gomorrah, The New Pope) and Davide Serino (1992), avoids museum-piece solemnity. Instead, it pulses with urgency, its rhythm accentuated by Rowlands' electronic score. The result feels closer to a cultural autopsy than a period drama—a dissection of how a democracy corrodes from within.
Marinelli isn't alone. The supporting cast—Francesco Russo, Barbara Chichiarelli, Benedetta Cimatti, Lorenzo Zurzolo, Gaetano Bruno, Paolo Pierobon—rounds out the political theater, but make no mistake: this is Marinelli's show. His Mussolini towers, sneers, collapses, and recalibrates. The Times called it “a towering performance” for good reason.
And if you're bracing for Wright's visual flourishes—those crane shots, that painterly lighting—they're here, weaponized. But what lingers is the horror of recognition. A century later, the language of strongmen hasn't changed. It just shifts platforms.
What You Should Know Before Watching Mussolini: Son of the Century
Based on a landmark novel
Antonio Scurati's M. Son of the Century won Italy's most prestigious literary award, the Premio Strega, cementing its reputation as a definitive exploration of Mussolini's rise.
Directed by Joe Wright
From Atonement to Darkest Hour, Wright has always balanced spectacle with intimacy. Here, he turns that gaze on fascism's birth.
Starring Luca Marinelli
The Italian actor, already acclaimed for Martin Eden, delivers what critics call his most transformative role yet.
Festival pedigree
Premiered at the 2024 Venice Film Festival, later screened at TIFF, and earned rave early reviews in Europe.
Streaming details
After a SkyTV debut in January 2025, the series will finally stream in the US and beyond on MUBI starting September 10, 2025, with new episodes weekly.
