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BEN-HUR: MGM Remaking Classic Film to follow Lew Wallace Book Closely

Charlton Heston Ben Hur

Ben-Hur is being remade. William Wyler‘s Ben-Hur (1959) film that starred Charlton Heston and won eleven Oscars will be remade MGM. The new version will follow the book Ben-Hur: A Tale Of The Christ, which “outsold every book but The Bible until it was eclipsed by Gone With The Wind“, more closely. That means the characters will be younger than their incarnations in Wyler’s version amongst other changes from a spec script by Keith Clarke.

On the people who decided to move forward with the remake and more on its focus:

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MGM, now steered by Gary Barber and production president Jonathan Glickman… just loved a spec that is faithful to the book…This film will tell the formative story of the characters as they grew up best friends before the Roman Empire took control of Jerusalem…There is another way the script differs from the movie, in that it will tell the parallel tale of Jesus Christ, with whom Ben-Hur has several encounters which moves him to become a believer in the Messiah, and which culminates in Christ being sentenced to death by Pontius Pilate. Intertwined in all this is the lifelong struggle between Ben-Hur and Messala.

There are others helping to bring this remake to life as well. The “package comes with Sean Daniel and Joni Levin attached to produce, and Clarke and Jason Brown exec producing.”

MGM does not own the rights to the film version of Ben-Hur but can make the film because the book is now in the public domain.

The Charlton Heston, Frank Thring, Haya Harareet, Sam Jaffe, Stephen Boyd Ben-Hur movie photos:

Charlton Heston Ben Hur

Charlton Heston Ben Hur

 

Charlton Heston Ben Hur

Charlton Heston Ben Hur

 

Charlton Heston Ben Hur

Charlton Heston Ben Hur

 

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Frank Thring Charlton Heston Ben Hur

Frank Thring Charlton Heston Ben Hur

 

Frank Thring Charlton Heston Ben Hur

Frank Thring Charlton Heston Ben-Hur

 

Haya Harareet Sam Jaffe Charlton Heston Ben Hur

Haya Harareet Sam Jaffe Charlton Heston Ben Hur

 

Stephen Boyd Charlton Heston Ben Hur

Stephen Boyd Charlton Heston Ben-Hur

When I heard the Ben-Hur remake news and realized it wasn’t April 1, I wanted to laugh. Making Ben-Hur within today’s economics will cost a fortune. It cost one when it was originally made. Who wants to watch a CGI horse race and a digital arena when we can watch a real horse race in a real arena?

Leave your thoughts on the Ben-Hur remake below in the comments section. For more Ben-Hur photos, videos, and information, visit our Ben-Hur Page, subscribe to us by Email, follow us on Twitter or on Facebook.

Source: Deadline, Slashfilm

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Rollo Tomasi

Rollo Tomasi is a Connecticut-based film critic, TV show critic, news, and editorial writer. He will have a MFA in Creative Writing from Columbia University in 2025. Rollo has written over 700 film, TV show, short film, Blu-ray, and 4K-Ultra reviews. His reviews are published in IMDb's External Reviews and in Google News. Previously you could find his work at Empire Movies, Blogcritics, and AltFilmGuide. Now you can find his work at FilmBook.
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