Warner Bros. is keeping their Greek roots alive after winning a bidding war for Odysseus written by Ann Peacock, with Jonathan Liebesman attached to direct reports The Hollywood Reporter. Over the past few years Warner has brought us Greek tales such as Troy and 300 and is continuing the trend with the remake of Clash of the Titans, which begins filming soon for a March 26, 2010 release with Louis Leterrier directing a cast made up of such names as Sam Worthington, Gemma Arterton, Mads Mikkelsen, Alexa Davalos, Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes.
I, for one, love these films and the word WB is looking to go a more violent route with Odysseus is even better news as Borys Kit reports for THR saying the intent is to make not a sleepy swords-and-sandles epic but a bloody relentless revenge movie, something akin to 300 meets Taken. You tell me, who would have ever thought Taken would eventually become inspirational fodder for upcoming films prior to its release. Score one for the little guy.
The film is being produced by Gianni Nunnari via his Hollywood Gang Prods. who also produced 300.
Jonathan Liebesman last directed The Killing Room, which Peacock co-wrote, but is probably best known for his work directing Darkness Falls in 2003 and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning in 2006. His resume doesn’t exactly speak to the idea of a sword-and-sandals epic, but I have yet to see The Killing Room in which four individuals sign up for a psychological research study only to discover that they are now subjects of a brutal, classified government program, so I may need to hold out any kind of overall judgment.
The story of Odysseus centers on the legendary title character, famed king of Ithaca, who returns to his island after 20 years of fighting the Trojan Wars, only to find his kingdom under the brutal occupation of an invading force. Odysseus single-handedly defeats every last man and takes back his wife, his son and his kingdom. Odysseus plays a key role in Homer’s “Iliad” and Homer’s “Odyssey” marking the end of Odysseus’ voyage home and his vengeance on his wife Penelope’s suitors, who have devoured his property in his absence.
The character was played by Sean Bean in 2004’s Troy, but there is no word on casting or even a production start so there is no telling what is in store. Stay tuned.
SIDE NOTE: Variety is reporting this same story, but they are referring to the title of the film as Ulysses, not Odysseus. Ulysses is the Latin name for Odysseus so it’s not a big deal, and I am sure it will be squared away soon enough.
