National Geographic has named actor Antonio Banderas to star as Pablo Picasso in the sophomore season of its anthology series Genius.

Banderas (The Mask Of Zoro, Evita) will portray the life of the Spanish painter in the second season of the series, which returns in 2018. The first season of Genius, which chronicled the life of Albert Einstein, was nominated for 10 Emmy Awards.

The second season of Genius will again be executive produced by Brian Grazer and Ron Howard’s Imagine Entertainment, as well as Gigi Pritzker's Madison Wells Media’s OddLot Entertainment and EUE/Sokolow, said Nat Geo. 

“Not only are they both from Málaga, Spain, but also similar to Picasso, Antonio exudes charisma and passion, and has challenged boundaries with his creative artistry,” said Carolyn Bernstein, executive vice president, head of global scripted for National Geographic in a statement. “He checks all the boxes for us and we couldn’t be more pleased to have him lead the series.”