Ever wondered what Julius Caesar and Marcus Brutus were like as young men, long before one became ruler of Rome and met a nasty bloody end at the hands of the other? Writer Con Iggulden certainly did, and has turned that interest into a series of novels that chronicle their lives. Now the team behind 300 and director Burr Steers are adapting the first two books into a film.
Steers, better known for Igby Goes Down and 17 Again (and who has just worked for a second time with Zac Efron on Charlie St Cloud), is branching out into epic historical filmmaking for Emperor: Young Caesar, which will adapt The Gates Of Rome and The Field Of Swords.
The books follow Caesar and Brutus as they grow up together to become Roman soldiers. If the first movie is a success, the plan is to forge a trilogy from the four books, with The God Of War and **The Death Of Kings **waiting in the wings. Together, the stories chart how a deep friendship sours over time into political rivalry and tragedy
Jarhead’s William Broyles and Stephen Harrigan, who has some experience with Roman stories after writing a Cleopatra TV movie back in 1999, are the men tasked with getting the script into shape for producers Gianni Nunnari and Mark Canton.
"I've always had an interest in Julius Caesar and his formative years and am thrilled to have the opportunity to be part of this project," Steers told Deadline. "There has never been a film that focuses on Caesar as a young man, and Conn Iggulden, Bill Broyles and Stephen Harrigan have a completely fresh, timely, and exciting take on one of the greatest historical figures of all time.”
It’s not known at this time whether the final film will include the lines “infamy, infamy… they’ve all got it in for me,”, which, thanks to Carry On Cleo are now forever linked in our mind with the big JC.