Millennium Films has hired Die Hard 2 and Cliffhanger director Renny Harlin to make Hercules 3D, a new take on the mythological character.

Millennium is aiming at March of 2014 to release the movie, which is also an attempt at beating Paramount and MGM’s own Hercules movie based on the graphic novel Hercules: The Thracian War, which is being directed by Brett Ratner and stars Dwayne Johnson in the lead role. That one will be released on August 8, 2014.

Hercules 3D will have an estimated $70 million budget, and has just begun pre-production. It will also involve eight major roles, which are all expected to be cast in the coming weeks.

Unlike most Hercules tales, Harlin’s version will be much more realistic, inspired more by Gladiator than anything fantastical we’ve seen.

Sean Hood and Hanna Weg wrote the screenplay.

[Source: Heat Vision]