Leonardo DiCaprio has been cast as Jim Jones in an upcoming film about the Jonestown mass suicide that took place in 1978.

DiCaprio will produce and star in the MGM film about the controversial cult leader, with Venom screenwriter Scott Rosenberg penning the script. A director for the film is yet to be confirmed.

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The charismatic leader who founded the Peoples Temple in Indianapolis in 1955, Jones was accused of paranoia and abuse of his followers, and was responsible for the mass suicide of the 909 people on November 18 1978 in Jonestown. The event would later inspire the band name for the Brian Jonestown Massacre.

DiCaprio will next be seen on screens alongside Jennifer Lawrence, Timothée Chalamet, Ariana Grande and Meryl Streep in the Netflix political satire Don’t Look Up.

The film focuses on two low-level astronomers tasked with warning the world that an approaching comet is en route to destroy planet Earth.

Elsewhere, the actor has been revealed to be a BTS fan, according to  Parasite actor Cho Yeo-jeong.

Appearing on an episode of Saturday Night Live Korea, Cho recalled speaking with DiCaprio during the 92nd Academy Awards in February 2020, the year Parasite took home the award for Best Picture.

Recalling their conversation (via News18), Cho said: “[DiCaprio] caught me on a brief moment right before we went up to the stage to be awarded. He congratulated me on the win.

“I asked him if he knows BTS. He said he likes ‘Blood Sweat & Tears’.”