Morgan Freeman is joining the cast of “Yellowstone” creator Taylor Sheridan’s upcoming series “Lioness,” according to reports released Friday.
Freedom will portray United States Secretary of State Edwin Mullins, Deadline reported. He’ll join the likes of Zoe Saldana and Nicole Kidman in the CIA-inspired series, which is based on a very real program run by the agency.
The Lioness Program was developed in response to the Muslim tradition that women cannot be touched by a man who is not related to them unless a female service member was present, according to the CIA’s official website. Insurgents started using women to smuggle items and act as suicide bombers, so the Marine Corps used the Lioness Program to provide “culturally-sensitive” searches on Iraqi women.
Did ‘Yellowstone’ Drop A Major Spoiler Years Ago That We’ve Ignored Until Now?https://t.co/YElutALfAa
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Female Marines in the program are said to be attached to combat units in order to search women and children at various checkpoints. The program was said to be successful in striking a balance of maintaining rapport with locals while allowing deployed Marines to carry out their duties.
Other major names from previous Sheridan-created series are also set to star in the show. Lamonica Garrett from “1883,” along with Dave Annable and James Jordan from “Yellowstone,” will also be featured in the series. (RELATED: ‘Yellowstone’ Causes So Much Drama After Huge Award Win)
Sheridan, along with the Sheridan-Universe team at Paramount+ have yet to provide an official release date for the series, but fans can expect a premiere some time in 2023 or early 2024, Esquire reported.