After Universal scrapped productions on a number of projects in development (including the Guillermo Del Toro directed H.P. Lovecraft adaptation At the Mountains of Madness – which would have starred Tom Cruise and be produced by James Cameron), it looks like Legendary Pictures has decided to scrap its big budget project Paradise Lost. The film was to have been directed by Alex Proyas and start shooting last month. But then that scheduled start was pushed till early summer. Now it looks like that’s no longer the case, according to Deadline.
Bradley Cooper was slated to play Lucifer, while Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter‘s Benjamin Walker was to play the archangel Michael.
The mitigating cause for scrapping the project revolved around the cost for visual effects. Legendary tried to bring the cost of production down to $120 million, but the film had never been official green lit for production.
The Pulse: This news is a little bit disconcerting as I’ve been anxiously awaiting a new film from Alex Proyas. I can see where costly visual effects may hinder the production of such a stylized movie inspired by John Milton’s epic poem. Considering Bradley Cooper’s star-making turn in Limitless, the film could have elevated his status that much more.
