Though it looked for a while as if Tom Hiddleston would be the new Ben-Hur, he is now headed in a different direction as was revealed yesterday. Nope, the man looking to fill a role once assayed by Charlton Heston is Jack Huston.
Taken once again from Lew Wallace’s 1880 novel, the new version aims to chronicle the younger days of Judah Ben-Hur and Messala, best friends growing up in Jerusalem before the Roman Empire takes over. Ben-Hur is a Jewish prince and Messala the son of a Roman tax collector who is packed off to be educated in Rome for five years. Upon his return, he mocks our hero for his religion, and, after an accident he pins on his friend, has him sold into slavery. Cue a quest for revenge that culminates (at least in the 1959 Heston film) in the iconic chariot race.
Morgan Freeman is already aboard to play Ildarin, the man who teaches Ben-Hur how to be a master at the reins for the races. Timur Bekmambetov is the director chosen by MGM and Paramount to wrangle the new take to the screen, working from a script that was most recently re-written by John Ridley.
Huston, who won acclaim for his role as Richard Harrow on Boardwalk Empire, has been scoring plenty of work recently. He’s part of the cast for upcoming Nicholas Sparks adaptation The Longest Ride, which arrives on April 10 next year, and he’s also playing Mr. Wickham in Pride And Prejudice And Zombies. He's also been rumoured to play Marvel's Doctor Strange, but this epic project might mean he is out of the running there. Time, and scheduling, will tell.