Ben-Hur
Director: Timur Bekmambetov
Screenwriter: Keith Clarke and John Ridley
Cast: Jack Huston, Morgan Freeman, Toby Kebbell, Nazanin Boniadi, Haluk Bilginer, Rodrigo Santoro.
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Rated PG-13 | 123 minutes
Release Date: August 19, 2016

Since studios are big on remakes that use expensive CGI to achieve looks or stunts that couldn’t have otherwise been achieved when the film was first released, it only made sense that we get a remake for Ben-Hur. But just because it sounds good on paper doesn’t exactly mean that it should be made. Then again, if done well, it could avoid being a complete disaster.

And so that is where the new Ben-Hur from director Timur Bekmambetov finds itself. The film starring Jack Huston as the title character finds itself following other contemporary remakes that just don’t quite measure up to the originals despite their well-intentions to update the age-old story for a modern audience.

Timur Bekmambetov has an interesting resume so far. The Kazakhstani writer, director, and producer’s credits include Night Watch and Day Watch as writer and director; Wanted and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter as director; and 9 and Apollo 18 as a producer.

One movie you likely did not expect to hear his name attached to is Ben-Hur, a reboot of the 1959 Charlton Heston epic which was based on the 1880 Lew Wallace novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ that’s being developed by MGM. But here we are. According to sources, Bekmembetov has entered into negotiations with the studio to take on the reboot.

One of MGM’s tactics on their journey from the brink of death, was to remake a bunch of well-known older movies in addition to the box office juggernauts they had in The Hobbit and Skyfall—two movies that together are nearing $2 billion worldwide. Remakes the studio has made or has been said to be working on include the recent Red Dawn, the upcoming RoboCop, a new version of The Magnificent Seven starring Tom Cruise, and the Sam Raimi-produced Poltergeist remake.

Now comes word that MGM is getting into the reboot game, and they’re doing so in epic fashion. It’s being reported that the studio is set to reboot Ben-Hur, which is of course a classic 1959 film starring the late Charlton Heston.