Warner Bros. Finds Director for Big Screen Version of Homer's 'The Odyssey'

A solid decade ago Warner Bros. dove head first in the Greek warrior poems of Homer with Troy (based on The Illiad), a sprawling and wildly expensive ($177M) effort that starred Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, Diane Kruger, Orlando Bloom, and basically a cast of thousands. It was an impressive effort that made about $500M despite critics largely bashing it, although I personally love that film with a passion and will defend it forever. And apparently Warner Bros. is also still quite keen on it because they are revisiting the period by tackling a big screen film based on Homer's The Odyssey, setting Russian director Fedor Bondarchuk to helm it.

Bondarchuk, who showed a flash of technological wizardry with his war film Stalingrad, will direct what is being title simply Odysseus, based on the Greek king (played by Sean Bean in Troy) and his incredible journey home to Ithaca after the events of the Trojan War. Odyssseus' decade-long trek sees him encountering a number of perils and fantastic creatures, including a run-in with a giant cylops, the infamous sirens,sea monsters, and more. And really that was just the beginning of things for him as the fight isn't over once he reaches Ithaca's shores.

This probably won't be considered a Troy sequel or anything like that (darnit!!) so we likely aren't going to see Bean in the title role. But the hiring of Bondarchuk, a guy who really did an amazing job on Stalingrad with limited resources, is reason enough to be excited. [Deadline]

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Sure Shots: Kid Cudi; 'Ben-Hur'; 'The Odyssey'

* Scott "Kid Cudi" Mescudi is the latest to join the cast of Need for Speed, the video game adaptation directed by Scott Waugh(Act of Valor). Already starring Adrian Paul, Imogen Poots, and Dominic Cooper, the film won't be based on any particular game in the franchise, but will be faithful to the series while celebrating the great car movies of the 1970s. Cudi's role is unclear at this point, but I doubt it'll require much in the way of acting. Probably more driving skill will be called for. [Deadline]

* Guess what's getting a reboot courtesy of MGM? Ben-Hur, the 11-time Oscar winning Charlton Heston classic, that's what. The studio is picked up a spec script by Keith Clarke(The Way Back) adapting Lew Wallace's 1880 novel, Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ. The story will follow the early years of Judah Ben-Hur and his childhood friend Messala, the latter betraying him and selling the former into slavery. That leads to a whole mess of chariot races and stuff. This one will differ from the 1959 film in that it will also tell the parallel story of Jesus Christ, who Ben-Hur meets on numerous occasions. There's still no director attached, but you know MGM wants their own slice of the Christian audience pie. [Deadline]

* While U.S. audiences mostly shrugged it off, Warner Bros. found greater success overseas with their Homeric adaptation, Troy. Now they're dipping back into the well again by taking on Homer's The Odyssey, only it'll be set in space courtesy of writer James DiLapo. Oi vei this sounds horrible. The original story followed King Odysseus' dangerous journey home after the events of The Illiad, facing down monstrous threats while at home his wife is being pursued by potential suitors. Brad Pitt, who played Achilles in Troy, was attached to this film at one point, but has since moved on. [Deadline]

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