The trailer for Timur Bekmambetov’s remake of Ben-Hur hit the web this week, revealing a dumbed-down version of Gen. Lew Wallace’s iconic novel about a Jewish prince who rises out of slavery to compete against his Roman friend and finds Christ along the way.
In just over two minutes, Bekmambetov turns the story into an action movie, focused on the story’s iconic chariot race. It looks like little of the religious context has survived, although there is a brief shot of a man on a crucifix.
The cast features Jack Huston as Judah Ben-Hur, Nazanin Boniadi as Esther, Toby Kebbell as Messala and Morgan Freeman as Ilderim.
This is the third time Wallace’s novel has been filmed for a feature-long movie. The first full film was MGM’s 1925 Ben-Hur: A Tale of Christ, which was followed by the more legendary 1959 version by William Wyler that won 11 Oscars. This new version is produced by MGM and Paramount Pictures.
Ben-Hur opens on Aug. 12.