Marco Polo is having a moment. Admittedly, the Netflix series about the man hasn’t exactly drummed up the sort of buzz enjoyed by House Of Cards or Orange Is The New Black, but it did well enough to secure a second season. Warner Bros. has had a film about the journeyman merchant in development for years, and now Paramount wants to chart its own course, with Rob Cohen set to direct and Hayden Christensen on board to star{
The studio has China Film Group and a variety of other Chinese companies on board to co-produce what The Hollywood Reporter says is a fantasy action movie based on the real-life exploits of the 13th century Venetian trader. He made a 24-year trek into China, with his adventures later becoming a book widely considered to be Europe’s first large-scale introduction to the Chinese culture. Naturally, he’s still thought of highly in China, which explains why the film will likely shoot most of its footage there, not to mention Cohen’s own love for the place, last expressed via The Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon Empire. Which fortunately, the country and its citizens have chosen not to hold against him.
Christensen will next be seen in indie drama 90 Minutes In Heaven alongside Kate Bosworth.