Rodrigo Santoro of 300 has been cast as Jesus Christ for the Ben-Hur remake, alongside Jack Huston as the legendary chariot racer.
Already having seen a Persian empire rise in his visage (or at least a Bowie-like androgynous approximation thereof), Rodrigo Santoro knows what it’s already like to have legions of extras bow before him. But is he ready to share with them a sermon on the mount?
It appears so since MGM and Paramount just cast him in the role of Jesus Christ for the upcoming Ben-Hur remake.
For those who only know of the story of Judah Ben-Hur for his epic chariot racing skills, the truth is that the original subtitle of the 19th century source material novel was Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ. And as much as Ben-Hur’s (Jack Huston) life will fall and rise, so too will there rise a carpenter that they called the Son of God. Santoro, who previously played the villainous Xerxes in both 300 films, will also be joining Toby Kebbell, Morgan Freeman, Olivia Cooke, Ayelet Zurer, and Nazanin Boniadi in the film.
Ben-Hur will be directed by Timur Bekmambetov (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter) and is based on a script by John Ridley (12 Years a Slave). It is also being produced by Mark Burnett and Roma Downey (the faith-based favorites who produced The Bible miniseries, and then recut and the same exact footage and released it in theaters with a new name: Son of God).
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.
