Paul W.S. Anderson’s films may be lackluster but they’re never boring. For a director whose resume includes Mortal Kombat, Event Horizon, Soldier, four Resident Evil movies, Aliens vs. Predator and Death Race, there’s so much cheese that you could top an entire box of Ritz crackers.
Now he’s getting quite a cast for a new take on the classic Alexandre Dumas story The Three Musketeers. The 3D project is slated to begin shooting in September.
Logan Lerman, who recently starred in Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, is negotiating for the role of D’Artagnan.
As the three disgraced members of the fighting force of the French king’s royal household, we got Ray Stevenson (The Book of Eli) as Porthos; Luke Evans (Clash of the Titans) as Athos; and Matthew Macfadyen (Robin Hood) as Aramis. Together they live by the credo “All for one and one for all!”
For the rogue’s gallery we got recent Academy Award winner Christoph Waltz as Cardinal Richelieu and Mads Mikkelsen (Casino Royale) as Rochefort. Milla Jovovich has been cast as Milady de Winter, a former love of Athos who acts as a spy for Cardinal Richelieu.
Still pending is an offer for Orlando Bloom to play the Duke of Buckingham.
Heat Vision says Anderson is going for a contemporary feel with his movie, without losing the period setting.
Sound off: So Anderson is going for historical-contemporary for this Musketeer project? It’s hard to tell at this point. This project is one of two Musketeers movies going into production. The other will be directed by Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity, Mr. and Mrs. Smith). Here again is another Deep Impact/Armageddon situation (or Dante’s Peak/Volcano if you prefer). Disney’s 1993 release with Kiefer Sutherland, Charlie Sheen, and Oliver Platt as the three musketeers was fun, but that could be the nostalgia talking. The cast looks promising for this movie, but Paul Anderson’s track record will require me to double up on the Ritz. What say you?
