I know most people will wonder just who this Cuchulainn is. Well, he is Ireland's greatest mythological hero and surprisingly, one of Marvel's former key characters in the Guardians of the Galaxy run during the 1990s.
I surfed the internet, as usual, to read Greek and Norse myths simply because I love mythology. When I was searching for more updates on Marvel's 2011 Thor, I happened to spot an upcoming film from a film company called BreakThru Films and it is titled "Hound". The hero is known as Cuchulainn a son of a God in Celtic Myth. His father is Lugh the warrior/sun God in Irish folklore.
For those who are familiar with his story, then you know it is a long and epic masterpiece. Supposedly his childhood name was Setanta, born from a mortal woman, who was given a boy by a God. Sounds a lot like Zeus. Setanta recieved the name Cuchulainn when he killed a large dog and yes I am reffering it to the lovable animal we call man's best friend. However this Dog was a guard dog of a man named Culain. The dog ran to Setanta going for the kill though Setanta striked the dog with tremendous force as a young child. Culain was astonished by the kid's brute force, but flet grief over the death of his "Hound". Setanta, feeling sorry for killing the man's best friend proposed to gaurd Culian's home untill he finds another dog to replace the one Setanta killed for self-defense. This is how the Irish warrior attained the name Cuchulainn and the title "Hound of Ulster", ulster being the place he grew up. In his teenage years, he massacred an invading army of some evil queen single handedly! They numbered by the hundreds, but not of course with the help of his immmortal father, Lugh.
I suggest you search Cuchuliann on wikipedia just to learn how heroic he really is and also search Marvel's website to learn his involovement in comics.
There is the brief biography of the great Celtic warrior.
Now here is the real production information for the film adaptation from the BreakThru Films website:
"When Celtic hero Cúchulainn returns home from exile the war spirit Morrigan seduces him with tragic consequences: forcing him to wage war on war itself.
Buried in the mythic ancient past lies an Ireland divided up by four tribal “nations”: the original inhabitants and three exotic new peoples swept in on successive waves of immigration in a world as much in flux as the present, co-existing in a perpetual cycle of war and truce. A clash of cultures and ideas as vital as any in our accelerated modern world, their world is over-laid by the mystic, the magical, and the realm of the spirits. Into this world is born Cúchulainn, a semi-divine hero marked out by destiny as the greatest warrior but bound for tragic glory: yet in the brutal tragedy of his life lies the seed of a united island.
When the other three nations, steered by the war spirit Morrigan and led by the malevolent Queen Maeve, invade his homeland to take the prized Brown Bull of Cooley, Cúchulainn returns home early from military training in the Land of Shadows to help his kin. He finds his people struck down by a mysterious sickness, unable to defend themselves, and is forced to make a lone stand against the invaders. Manipulated by the war spirit, Morrigan, Queen Maeve sets her sights on far more than a bull and pits Cú’s oldest friend – her best champion – against him.
Realising the futility of war after he defeats his friend Cú turns his grief stricken rage on the war spirit herself. He tragically fights fire with fire, and when that fails he chooses sacrifice over surrender. It is the only way to ensure the war spirit can never use his power against mankind again."
"The style and look of the film will be a mix of live action and CG animation enhanced imagery. Seeking to use visual innovations as portrayed in recent films like 300, Pan’s Labyrinth and the Lord Of The Rings trilogy, Cuchulainn will not ape these movies but will seek to use similar techniques to find a unique vision or window into the world of Celtic mythology.
The main characters will be actors while the world of ERIN will be created digitally, where actual locations do not offer the look or space needed.
The intent is to bring to the screen a seamless marriage of reality and dreams so authentic that we do not question the place, but instead revel in the romance, adventure and vitality of its story and characters."
Producers Tamsin Lyons, Hugh Welchman & Paul Bolger
Writer Barry Devlin & Paul Bolger
Director Paul Bolger
Hound
"A state-of-the-art feature film adaptation of the Cúchulainn legend, Hound is written by Barry Devlin and Paul Bolger (who will also direct) and produced by Tamsin Lyons and Hugh Welchman. The film will utilise ground-breaking visual effects and animation to build a mysterious and mythical Ireland using the existing landscape and that of the imagination.
The film is part of a wider, more ambitious plan to bring the legend of Cúchulainn to a worldwide audience across many platforms. These platforms include a computer game in development in tandem with the film, a documentary series, and series of novels. The film is to begin pre-production in early 2010. Development funders are BSÉ/IFB, Northern Ireland Screen, and ITV Global, and the film is being developed by PillarStone Productions and BreakThru Films."
So pre production is set to begin in early 2010 and the tone of the film seems to have some "300" elements.