Rosario Dawson and Ava DuVernay join forces for 'DMZ' dystopian series

Marvel actress Rosario Dawson and producer Ava DuVernay will join forces for a second American civil war in the just-announced limited event series DMZ, based on Brian Wood and Riccardo Burchielli's DC/Vertigo comic of the same name. The four-part limited series will be an HBO Max and Warner Bros. Television production from Roberto Patino and DuVernay.The DMZ comic is set in a near-future America, which is in the middle of its second civil war and isolated from the rest of the world. Dawson will play Alma Ortgeo, the fearless nurse in New York City who is on a journey to reunite with her lost son. The two were separated when the city evacuated at the start of the war. The island of Manhattan has its share of issues, too, including being riddled with gangs fighting for power.The comic adaptation cast includes Benjamin Bratt, Freddy Miyares, Hoon Lee and Jordan Preston Carter. Bratt will play Manhattan gang leader, Parco Delgado. The series will explore a political and cultural divide in American society and is set to begin production in 2021.[video_embed id='1997366']RELATED: Ava DuVernay making leap to unscripted TV with ‘social experiment’[/video_embed]In a statement to Variety, writer Patino said he couldn't "be more thrilled to bring this epic to the screen with my boundary-pushing partners at WBTV and HBO Max, a sublime cast led by Rosario and Benjamin, and my partner and friend, the inimitable and ever-inspiring Ava DuVernay." Patino added that DMZ offers "an explosive playground" that "exalts the resilience of community and the human spirit."This series will be the second DC-related project that DuVernay is working on as she is set to direct New Gods, part of the Fourth World Saga by the late comic book artist Jack Kirby. She shared her vision of DMZ on Twitter Thursday.

Sure am! Here’s what our vision of #DMZ looks like. More to come. Let’s go! https://t.co/QWXRQyFmz5 pic.twitter.com/Q2RRrXfPr0

— Ava DuVernay (@ava) November 19, 2020

Prepare to enter the zone![video_embed id='-1']BEFORE YOU GO: Smitten puppy can't stop kissing new foster kitten[/video_embed]