MUMBAI: Mickey Rourke, one of the villains in Jon Favreau‘s upcoming Iron Man 2 is set to play Genghis Khan in a new film, which is to be written and directed by John Milius.

Director and screenwriter John Milius who earlier wrote the scripts of 1980s classics Conan the Barbarian and Red Dawn, will present a different view of Genghis Khan by looking at the great military leader from the perspective of his son and grandson. Throughout the movie, there will be many flashbacks to his mid-40s.

The film that will be cinematographed in India and China involves many equestrian scenes for which Rourke has to practice his riding skills.

Genghis Khan was the founder, ruler and emperor of the Mongol Empire. By the end of his life, the Mongol Empire occupied a substantial portion of Central Asia and China, representing the largest continuous empire in Chinese history.