Rodrigo Santoro in Talks to Play Jesus in BEN-HUR Remake

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Rodrigo Santoro is in talks to play Jesus Christ in MGM and Paramount's upcoming BEN-HUR remake, starring Jack Huston and helmed by Timur Bekmambetov. BEN-HUR is set for release on February 26, 2016.

The screenplay, originally written by Keith Clarke (The Way Back), with revisions by Academy Award-winner John Ridley (12 Years A Slave), is based on Lew Wallace's 1880 epic novel Ben-Hur: A Tale Of The Christ.

The film returns to the heart of Lew Wallace's epic novel focusing on the nature of faith. The story follows a falsely accused nobleman who survives years of slavery to take vengeance on his best friend who betrayed him. Both must come to choose between retribution or forgiveness.

THR writes that BEN-HUR "will have a message of forgiveness and Jesus Christ appears several times in the piece. BEN-HUR sees the man preach while in Jerusalem and later sees his crucifixion."

Also in the cast are Morgan Freeman, Toby Kebbell, Olivia Cooke and Ayelet Zurer.

Roma Downey (The Bible) and Ridley will serve as executive producers along with Keith Clarke and Jason F. Brown. Mark Burnett, Sean Daniel (The Mummy Franchise) and Joni Levin (The Way Back) are also on the producing team.

Among Santoro's other upcoming projects are Focus, Jane Got a Gun, The 33, Pele and Dominion. His past screen credits include 300: Rise of an Empire, The Last Stand, Rio and Rio 2, I Love You Phillip Morris, Lost, Love Actually and more.

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