CONFIRMED: Brett Ratner To Direct Dwayne Johnson In HERCULES; Production Begins Next Year
We've known about this movie for a while now, and both director Brett Ratner (X-Men: The Last Stand) and star Dwayne Johnson (Fast Five) have been linked to the project nearly ever since it was first announced. Their involvement has now been confirmed, as have a few other minor details!
Deadline and various other sources have confirmed that Hercules is indeed moving ahead with Brett Ratner at the helm and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson attached to star. While both parties have been "in talks" for a while now (though the latter was recently confirmed as being signed up), the news that the film is definitely moving ahead came alongside the announcement that it will be co-produced by Paramount Pictures and MGM Studios. The site also goes on to mention that production is expected to begin early next year, despite earlier reports indicating that filming would start in New Zealand LAST MONTH. The screenplay was adapted by relative newcomer Ryan Condal from Radical Studio's graphic novel Hercules: The Thracian Wars. Below is a description of that story.
Fourteen hundred years ago, a tormented soul walked the earth that was neither man nor god. Hercules was the powerful son of the god king Zeus, for this he received nothing but suffering his entire life. After twelve arduous labors and the loss of his family, this dark, world-weary soul turned his back on the gods finding his only solace in bloody battle. Over the years he warmed to the company of six similar souls, their only bond being their love of fighting and presence of death. These men and woman never question where they go to fight or why or whom, just how much they will be paid. Now the King of Thrace has hired these mercenaries to train his men to become the greatest army of all time. It is time for this bunch of lost souls to finally have their eyes opened to how far they have fallen when they must train an army to become as ruthless and blood thirsty as their reputation has become.