A decade on from Wolfgang Petersen's Troy (adapted from The Iliad), Hollywood is finally getting around to Homer's other great epic, The Odyssey. Warner Bros. have set Stalingrad director Fedor Bondarchuk to work on **Odysseus, the story of the titular Greek warrior-king-hero's return home from the Trojan War.
300's Gianni Nunnari is among the producers, indicating that, to some extent, this is the same Odysseus that was developing as long as five years ago. There have been plenty of changes between then and now, however. Back in 2009, the screenplay was by Ann Peacock (The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe) and the thrust was not The Odyssey itself, but what happened to Odysseus after he got home to Ithaca.
But the latest script is by Jeremy Doner (The Killing), indicating a new focus, and raising the possibility that we may see Odysseus dealing with Cyclops, sirens, Scylla and shipwrecks after all.
The Russian Bondarchuk is an intriguing choice, although directing the much-garlanded Stalingrad - Russia's first 3D IMAX feature - obviously meant it was only a matter of time before Hollywood snapped him up. Deadline suggest that the fact he's already wildly popular in Russia and China is advantageous for Warners, who have a keen eye on foreign markets.
Stalingrad, despite its size and spectacle, was filmed entirely without the use of green-screen, so it's tantalising to wonder whether Bondarchuk will attempt the same in this case, whether or not it's Odysseus' journey or homecoming that's the point.
There's no start date yet, but the wheels are clearly in motion. Sean Bean played Odysseus in Troy. The campaign to see him return starts here.