Two months ago, there were rumors that producers really wanted Tom Hiddleston to play the lead in a remake of Ben-Hur. Hiddles would have played Judah Ben-Hur, obviously. After those initial rumors, everything sort of petered out and Tommy ended up signing on to Skull Island and I guess Tommy gave the Ben-Hur producers a hard “no.” So, now Jack Huston is the lead and the movie is still going ahead. And now it’s looking like Pedro Pascal is coming on in a major role and I really wish Hiddles had stuck with it! Can you imagine the fan-frenzy if Hiddles AND Pedro were in the same movie? YIKES.
Pedro Pascal, who made an indelible impression on the last season of HBO’s Game Of Thrones, is in talks to play Pontius Pilate in the Timur Bekmambetov-directed Ben-Hur remake at MGM and Paramount. If talks with Pascal work out, he will join Jack Huston, as well as Toby Kebbell, Morgan Freeman and Gal Gadot in the film. Production begins early next year in Europe for February 26, 2016 release.
Pontius Pilate plays a significant role in this version of Ben-Hur, which hews closer to the 1880 Lew Wallace novel and its parallel storyline to Jesus Christ than did the 1959 William Wyler-directed film that won the Best Actor Academy Award to Charlton Heston, and 10 other Oscars. The script is by Keith Clarke and 12 Years A Slave’s John Ridley did the rewrite.
The main drama is the blood feud between Judah Ben-Hur (Huston) and Messala (Kebbell), who grew up best friends before the Roman Empire took control of Jerusalem. Ben-Hur was a Jewish prince and Messala the son of a Roman tax collector. After the latter leaves to be educated in Rome for five years, the young man returns with a different attitude and mocks Judah and his religion. When a procession passes by Judah’s house and a roof tile accidentally falls and hits the governor, Messala betrays his childhood friend and manipulates the accident so that Judah is sold into slavery and certain death on a Roman warship, with his mother and sister thrown in prison for life. Judah vows revenge, culminating in the famed chariot races.
I’m not really buying Jack Huston a leading man, nor do I think he has the watchable quality needed to anchor a big film like this. So… yeah, now I’m reconsidering my position and I kind of think Tommy should have taken the lead. It would have been a good move. Especially because then for the press tour, Pedro and Tommy would have openly adored each other.
I am glad to see Pedro get so much love these days. A lot of people would love to see him in the Doctor Strange role, or just associated with Marvel in some way. His one-season arc in Game of Thrones really opened up a lot of doors for him. Yay!
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet and WENN.
No. To the whole thing. I think that says a lot that TH turned it down but signed on to a movie about the origins of a giant ape. This film has bomb written all over it.
Yeah, I do not see a modern Ben-hur remake happening. Still, I would watch Pedro pascal read the phone book.
Nay!!!! I want him to be Doctor Strange sooo bad!!! I fear every role he takes makes it less of a possibility. Should we make a petition to send to Marvel?
I may be married but I would shag the hell out of Pedro. My husband said he’d be fine with it as long as we made him a video.
However, I really love him with Sarah Paulson and am glad that both are getting success. They both deserve it. They seem like a fun and mellow couple.
I agree that Jack Huston can’t carry a movie. He just doesn’t have that quality
I had to google him, he looks like my ex which makes him unwatchable to me by default. Sorry!
I’m glad both Jack and Pedro are getting work off their HBO shows but I’m glad Tom turned this down and I’ll only consider seeing it if the reviews are phenomenal
That director isn’t good with drama. However, the action sequences will be amazing because that is his specialty – see WANTED, NIGHTWATCH, DAYWATCH. So I guess the studio has decided on a big action cartoony remake of BEN-HUR with no subtlety or depth.
But more Jesus.
I didn’t realize that it was Bekmambetov doing it! Yeah, the action sequences are going to be absolutely mind boggling.
I’m for it! (If only for the amazing alliteration).
I disagree! I’m excited to see Jack Huston. I think this could be just the shot he needs. Let’s see what happens!