We need more biblical thrillers. Seriously, it's a genre that remains untapped.
Whatever happened to that great Left Behind book series, has anybody acquired the film rights to that? With seven or more books, its story of Revelation could become a super-franchise.
Screen Gems is taking a shot at the franchise with Legion, a thriller that will star Paul Bettany.
Paul Bettany for Legion
Screen Gems has picked up Paul Bettany to star in Legion.
To be directed by Scott Stewart off a script that both he and Peter Schink wrote, Legion follows what happens when God loses faith in humanity and sends his legion of angels to wipe out the human race for the second time. Mankind's only hope lies in a group of misfits holed up in a diner in the desert who are aided by the archangel Michael (Bettany).
Though the film is bound to have a compilation of cool effects, Screen Gems president Clint Culpepper praised the project for Stewart's rewrites, which showed an affinity for character over spectacle.
"I was so impressed with his rewrite that I took the meeting with him, and his visual presentation closed the deal," Culpepper said. "I'm sure he had the same impact on Paul."
Production will begin this March in New Mexico.
Bettany can next be seen in Young Victoria and Inkheart.
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