Having already worked together on the forthcoming “Hercules,” Paramount and MGM look ready to join forces on another famous character.
Sources tell Variety Paramount will co-produce and distribute MGM’s upcoming remake of “Ben-Hur.”
Timur Bekmambetov (“Wanted”) is directing the project from a script by Oscar-winning “12 Years a Slave” writer John Ridley and Keith Clarke, who sold the original spec to MGM.
Paramount and MGM had no comment.
The film is based on Lew Wallace’s 1880 novel “Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ,” and follows a falsely accused nobleman who survives years of slavery to take vengeance on his best friend who betrayed him.
In addition to “Ben-Hur” and the upcoming “Hercules” starring Dwayne Johnson, MGM and Paramount are also co-producing the sequel to “Hot Tub Time Machine,” which opens Christmas Day.
MGM and Paramount previously teamed up on the release of “GI Joe: Retaliation” and “Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters.”
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Sean Daniel and Joni Levin will produce the new “Ben-Hur” with Clarke and Jason Brown exec producing.
