CUBA – As part of his return to acting, James Franco is set to play Fidel Castro in an upcoming biopic about the late Cuban leader’s daughter.

The film, titled “Alina of Cuba: La Hija Rebelde,” is still in pre-production, but Franco’s involvement is already making waves. It will be one of his first acting roles since two women sued him in 2019 over alleged sexual misconduct while he was their acting teacher. In June 2021, Franco agreed to pay $2.2 million to settle the suit.

Major new media outlets have reached out to a representative for Franco for comment and further details about the film. Deadline was first to report the news of Franco’s casting.

Why was James Franco cast as Fidel Castro? 

In an interview with, “Alina of Cuba” producer John Martinez O’Felan said the film’s team aimed to cast an actor with “Latin roots” who also has “a similar facial structure” to Castro’s. Franco has Portuguese ancestry on his father’s side.

“In executing a close search into our hopefuls through the eye of Spanish and Portuguese genealogy which the Galicians held, we found that James, by far, had the closest facial likeness of our Industry’s leading actors, meaning that the focus would be to build out his character accent and we’d have a stunning on-screen match to intrigue audiences and bring the story to life with true visual integrity,” he said.

James Franco’s casting met with backlash

After reports surfaced that Franco will play Castro, Twitter users expressed outrage over his return to Hollywood following his sexual misconduct lawsuit. 

“James Franco literally sexually abused several women why would you want him to get ‘un-canceled,’ ” wrote @LifeAsDuck.

“Unless u go to jail, getting me too’d has like a two-year expiration date,” wrote @TA1297.

Others took issue with Franco playing a Cuban role.

Playwright and TV writer Tanya Saracho called Franco’s casting “absolute blasphemy.” 

“And they had to tie themselves in knots to rationalize it,” Saracho wrote on Twitter, referencing the film producer’s Deadline interview. “For shame. What year is this?” 

“I’m a Cuban-born actor. I’ve auditioned for that project (Aline of Cuba), but for a different role. I don’t have anything against James Franco, but playing Fidel Castro. Is this a joke?” wrote Carlo Arrechea. 

Actress and writer Jenni Ruiza said she was “so confused by the disrespect the industry continues to give Latine performers.”

“Now James Franco has been cast as Fidel Castro,” she wrote. “Fidel Castro, everyone.” 

“James Franco coming back and whitewashing a Latin American figure?” wrote @alessandra_kr. “A double whammy of awfulness. Yay.”

“This is disgusting,” wrote @SarahAnnMasse. “James Franco is a sexual predator and he is neither Cuban nor Latino. Everything about this is wrong.”