Social media is up in arms over the idea of casting Hollywood superstar Leonardo DiCaprio as 13th-century Persian Sufi mystic, poet and philosopher Jalaluddin Rumi in a biopic.

Oscar-winning screenwriter David Franzoni, who will be helming the project, and with producer Stephen Joel Brown's dream cast: Leonardo DiCaprio as Rumi, and Robert Downey Jr. as Shams Tabrizi, a teacher and spiritual adviser to Rumi.