Toby Kebbell is in early talks to star as Messala, the best friend of Judah Ben-Hur, who changes allegiances for Rome.
To go from betraying Caesar (the ape) in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes to taking on the part of the treacherous Messala, Hollywood seems to be having trust issues with Toby Kebbell.
As reported in Variety, the English actor is in early talks to play the Roman childhood friend of Judah Ben-Hur, who feels differently about the relationship when he returns from school as a true son of Rome. Kebbell has also just wrapped playing Victor Von Doom in the Fantastic Four reboot that 20th Century Fox has scheduled for next June.
MGM and Paramount have agreed to produce a new take on the Ben-Hur character with director Timur Bekmambetov (Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter) at the helm. John Ridley, who scripted 12 Years a Slave, has also written this new version of the tale.
We have conflicted feelings about this. While it continues to vindicate the Resurrection of the Biblical Epic, a predicted feat that is no longer too surprising since this spring’s Noah has gone on to gross $300 million worldwide in only three weeks of release. Nonetheless, Ben-Hur (1959) is a personal favorite of mine and is arguably the best movie ever based around a biblical story.
Granted, the 1959 picture, which was directed by William Wyler and starred cinema’s closest approximation of a marble statue in one Charlton Heston, is also a remake of the iconic 1925 movie of the same name. And both are adaptations of American Civil War Union veteran General Lew Wallace’s 1880 novel, Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ. However, Ben-Hur is obviously one of those rare instances where the film adaptation’s cultural impact, at least in the 20th century-onwards, transcends its literary source. Also, it is hard to imagine CGI or digital video surpassing the stunning use of 70 millimeters and in-camera stunts for the chariot race.
But like the titular hebrew, perhaps we should stop fighting with our own self-doubts and embrace the future to come?
Ben-Hur races into cinemas on February 26, 2016.
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