Marco Polo filming will be held in Kazakhstan

Parts of Netflix drama series Marco Polo are filmed in Kazakhstan, Tengrinews reports citing Hollywood Reporter.

Besides Kazakhstan, the Weinstein Company producing the series will also do some shooting on a location in Italy and in a Malaysian studio. The location choices demonstrate the epic nature of the production and will serve well to recreate an environment of the 13th century.

According to the first season's storyline, the famed explorer finds himself in the center of a brutal war in 13th century China. So the movie will be full of exotic martial arts, political scheming, spectacular battles and sexual intrigue. The first season of Marco Polo will run for 10 episodes.

John Fusco, the series script writer, and Harvey Weinstein are the executive producers along with Dan Minahan known for The Game of Thrones. The latter will be directing the season's first two eposides together with Oscar nominated Joachim Roenning and Espen Sandberg who are regarded for their work on Kon-Tiki and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell no Tales.

Italian actor Lorenzo Richelmy (Il Terzo Tempo) will star as Marko Polo. The international cast will also include British actor Benedict Wong (Prometheus) and Chinese actor Zhu Zhu (Cloud Atlas), Tom Wu (Skyfall), Remy Hii (Treading Water) and Rick Yune (Olympus Has Fallen).

“Television audiences today are more discerning than ever before both in terms of character and the scope of the worlds those characters live in,” said The Weinstein Company’s Co-Chairman Harvey Weinstein.

“We are proud to present a series that rivals some of the most successful films we’ve ever made. Marco Polo is a figure all have heard of, but few truly know and we are excited to introduce him to the world.

“And we are shooting all over the world. From the sweeping vistas of Kazakhstan – which act as backdrop for the wars and conquests of Kublai Khan – to the intimate moments within the alleys and canals of Marco’s hometown of Venice, Italy, this is spectacle in the truest sense of the word.”

The Marco Polo project was officially announced in January 2012 and will debut on Netflix in late 2014.