Having played the bizarre giant god-emperor Xerxes in 300 and its sequel Rise Of An Empire, Rodrigo Santoro is now in line to play another religious icon. He's negotiating to be one Jesus of Nazareth in MGM and Paramount's upcoming Ben-Hur remake{
In the 1959 film, Jesus shows up towards the end. Charlton Heston's Ben-Hur takes the ailing Tirzah (Cathy O'Donnell) to be healed, but they arrive too late. Jesus' trial, presided over by Pontius Pilate (Frank Thring) has already begun, and Ben-Hur then witnesses the events of the crucifixion. Jesus was played on this occasion by the opera singer Claude Heater, although his name doesn't appear in the credits.
Taken once again from Lew Wallace’s 1880 novel (which actually carries on significantly beyond Jesus' execution), the new version aims to chronicle the younger days of Ben-Hur (Jack Huston) and Messala (Toby Kebbell), best friends growing up in Jerusalem. 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, Messala 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 includes (in the Heston film, at any rate) the iconic chariot race.
Morgan Freeman is also aboard to play Ildarin, the man who teaches Ben-Hur how to be a master at the reins for the races.
Bekmambetov plans to start cranking his Ben-Hur cameras imminently at Rome's famous Cinecittà Studios, for a release on February 19, 2016.