We like a bit of Paul Bettany here at Empire Towers – he’s British, he’s funny, he’s a damn good actor and he’s Mr. Jennifer Connelly, so he will always have our admiration. But we’ve been a little disappointed to see that the stardom we tipped him for when he first burst onto the scene with Gangster No. 1 hasn’t quite materialised, hampered by a run of forgettable movies – Wimbledon, anyone? – and a penchant for playing the scary villain, in fare like Firewall and The Da Vinci Code.
But we’re delighted to tell you that Bettany has landed the lead in Legion, a film that sounds, on paper at least, utterly awesome.
Set largely in a diner in a desert, Legion tells the story of what happens when God loses faith in humanity decides to send his army of angels down to Earth to wipe out mankind. Our only hope lies with a group of misfits who hole up in said diner, and their new ally, the archangel Michael (Bettany). Presumably, this is the same Michael that John Travolta once played, but a sequel this ain’t.
Now, we’re suckers for siege movies, and Legion sounds like it could be a belter, with an intriguing plotline, and a potentially excellent central role for Bettany, and angels fighting angels. What's not to love?
We’re guessing that it’s pretty low-budget, hence the diner locale, but hopefully first-time director Scott Stewart, who wrote the script with Peter Schink, will be able to conjure up arresting visuals.
Production on the Screen Gems film begins in March. Oh, and we should mention that Bettany has five films in the pipeline, including Inkheart and The Young Victoria - but Legion is the one that we're really excited about.