(PCM) Former Boardwalk Empire star Jack Huston has been cast as the title character in MGM and Paramount Pictures’ 2016 remake of the biblical historical drama Ben-Hur.
Deadline broke the news yesterday that Huston would be joining the cast alongside Morgan Freeman, who signed on to play the role of Ildarin last week.
In related casting news, Morgan Freeman recently signed on to appear in the sequel to 2012’s hit comedy Ted and Jack Huston will play Mr. Wickham in Burr Steers’ Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.
Rumors were spreading back in August that Tom Hiddleston would star in the remake, and while it’s clear that the Loki-playing actor won’t take the lead as Judah Ben-Hur, it is unknown whether he will have a role in the film at all or not.
Hiddleston is still listed on Ben-Hur’s IMDb page as rumored to be in the cast, but he might be too busy with his starring role in Legendary and Universal Pictures’ 2016 Skull Island.
Set to be released on February 26, 2014, MGM and Paramount Pictures’ Ben-Hur is currently in pre-production with an original script by Keith Clarke (The Way Back) with revisions from Academy Award-winner John Ridley (12 Years a Slave).
Ben-Hur is based on the 1880 epic novel by Lew Wallace “Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ.”
The biblical drama tells the story of Judah Ben-Hur, a nobleman who, after enduring years of slavery and cruelty after being falsely accused and betrayed by his best friend, seeks vengeance for his lost life.
Ben-Hur has made it’s way to the silver screen twice before; the first time was in 1925 with MGM’s Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ and again in 1959 with the William Wyler directed and Charleton Heston starring Ben-Hur, which went on the be the first remake to win an Oscar. Ben-Hur won a total of 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor in a Leading Role, and Best Director.
It looks like 2016’s Ben-Hur director Timur Bekmambetov has some large shoes to fill. The Russian-Kahzakh film director is well known in Russia for the vampire franchise Night Watch (2004) and Day Watch (2006) and has previously directed Wanted (2008) and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012).
I’m betting that we can at least expect a spectacular chariot racing scene from this action/adventure director.
The post Jack Huston is Ben-Hur in MGM and Paramount Pictures’ Remake of the Historical Drama also appeared on PCM Reviews.