Just one day after joining Universal's comedy
sequel Ted 2, Morgan Freeman has signed on
for a role in Paramount and MGM's Ben-Hur
reboot.
Morgan Freeman is portraying Ildarin, the man
who teaches the title character to become a
champion chariot racer. The studios are
reportedly close to finding the two main
characters, Judah Ben-Hur and his former friend
turned bitter rival Messalla. We reported last
month that Tom Hiddleston was being courted
to play Ben-Hur , but it remains unclear whether
or not he will accept the role. It isn't known
what other actors are in contention for these
two main characters.
The reboot is said to stick closer to the original
1880 Lew Wallace novel than the 1959 movie
Ben-Hur did. The focus is still on the feud
between Ben-Hur and the treacherous Messalla,
who betrays his longtime friend and frames him
for an accident, causing Ben-Hur to be sold into
slavery. This version will also include the
parallel story of Jesus Christ, which wasn't
included in the first adaptation, although the
reboot will also lead up to the famed chariot
races towards the end.
Timur Bekmambetov is directing from a script
originally written by Keith R. Clarke, with John
Ridley ( 12 Years a Slave) providing a rewrite.
Mark Burnett and Roma Downey are producing
alongside Sean Daniel and Joni Levin .
Morgan Freeman stars in the upcoming family
sequel Dolphin Tale 2, which hits theaters
tomorrow, and he will next be seen in the
Olympus Has Fallen sequel entitled London Has
Fallen .
Ben-Hur comes to theaters February 26th, 2016
and stars Morgan Freeman . The film is directed
by Timur Bekmambetov.
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