Roma Downey and Mark Burnett
The filmmakers who led the “Son of God” project, Mark Burnett and Roma Downey, joined forces with Paramount and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures to plan for the production of a new Ben Hur movie, scheduled to be released some time in 2016.
Some new members will be joining this team of artists to start the pre-production for this new movie and MGM and Paramount Pictures will be co-producing. Timur Bekmambetov, who worked on films like Wanted was chosen to direct the new Ben Hur. The original screenplay, which was written by Keith Clarke will be revised John Ridley, who is most well-known for 12 Years A Slave. The story will be based on the 1880 epic novel Ben Hur: A Tale of the Christ.
The new movie is expected to stay loyal to the story and message of the epic novel. Key elements of the story include the nature of faith. The plot is centered round a nobleman who was wrongly accused and had to serve some years as a slave. He seeks vengeance on his friend who had accused him. In the end however, the protagonist will have to choose between forgiveness and retribution.
"What an honor it will be to help bring this epic film back to the big screen," Downey and Burnett say. "When Gary Barber allowed us to read John Ridley's amazing script, we immediately knew we had to join this team. We are thrilled to be able work with Timur, Sean, John and the entire MGM and Paramount teams. General Lew Wallace’s Ben-Hur is one of the most important Christian works of fiction ever written, and this script is astounding. It will be the most anticipated movie release of 2016."
Downey and Burnett were originally known for their television miniseries The Bible. In 2013, the series became the number 1 cable show on the History Channel. On February 20th, the duo saw the release of their feature film, Son of God (20th Century Fox) which stirred up a great deal of outreach to communities that have yet to hear the Gospel, and even grossed a great deal of revenue from the box office.
