JOHANNESBURG, Dec. 11(Xinhuanet)-- Hollywood heartthrob Leonardo DiCaprio will come to South Africa early next year to film his latest thriller, The Blood Diamond, South African newspaper Sunday Times reported.

The Oscar-nominated actor will play the role of a smuggler in the African adventure set in Sierra Leone in 1999, a period when the region was in the midst of a civil war.

In the movie, DiCaprio will play a juggler specializing in"blood diamonds", also known as"conflict diamonds," which are used to finance rebellions, privateers and terrorists.

De Beers, a company which has dominated the world diamond trade since 1930, has expressed misgivings about the film, said the newspaper.

However, pre-production for the movie, reportedly boasting a budget of more than 200 million US dollars, is already under way at a resort on South Coast of KwaZulu-Natal Province, which is close to Durban.

The newspaper said the Durban Film Office, a local film promotion arm, confirmed that local pre-production for the Warner Bros motion picture had begun.

A large contingent of international set designers and production crew were preparing for the arrival and the filming of DiCaprio, the star of Titanic, Gangs of New York and The Aviator.

The Blood Diamond, directed by Edward Zwick and written by Charles Leavitt, also stars Oscar winner Jennifer Connelly and Djimon Hounsou, who featured in Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life. Enditem