At the end of July, we brought you a rather intense looking photo of Bradley Cooper as fallen angel, Lucifer, in Alex Proyas’ (I, Robot, The Crow) adaptation of the epic 17th-century poem, Paradise Lost by John Milton. Now, we have casting news of who will be going head-to-head with Cooper.
According to Deadline, Benjamin Walker (Flags of Our Fathers, Kinsey) goes from vampire hunter to archangel. Walker has been cast as the archangel Michael in an all out war against Lucifer and his army. He has just completed filming his starring role in Timur Bekmambetov’s Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.
The Legendary Pictures project has been described as 300 meets Lord of the Rings with epic battle scenes employing “cutting-edge visual effects.” Director Alex Proyas says that Paradise Lost is more than just an epic battle:
“It’s not just armies battling in an epic war. This is an adventure about the origins of good and evil after Lucifer’s rebellion gets him cast out of Heaven and leads to a struggle with his brother archangel over the soul of mankind, starting with Adam and Eve. That is the scope of the narrative here, and we’ve tried to say as faithful as possible to Milton’s text, particularly its focus on Lucifer’s evolution and the birth of evil. It’s a family saga, about a group of brothers, two in particular, who are on divergent paths, and Lucifer’s feelings of betrayal by his father and family that forge his descent into evil.”
Proyas indicated that there are three major battle sets – Heaven, Hell, and Eden and that he might be insane for making this movie:
“I’ve sometimes thought that only an insane person would want to make this movie, because it’s visually audacious and has to live up to a classic poem that is so beloved. I don’t think the visuals could have been done justice until now, which is the great fun of being a film director in this modern age of visual effects. Despite all those possibilities, the characters are what’s most important.”
Walker is still in negotiations for the role, but Proyas feels confident in this casting choice.
“[Walker’s] deal isn’t closed yet, but I think there’s a wonderful duality about Ben’s persona, this combination of great strength and perfect innocence that works so well for Michael. And Bradley is the most charming guy you’ll ever meet, with this extraordinary charisma. Lucifer was the brightest and smartest of the archangels, and even as he descended into evil and evolved into Satan, he’s not just some black-and-white villain. Bradley brings extraordinary depth to that journey.”
Synopsis:
Lucifer and Michael, God’s greatest archangels, share the bond of extraordinary friendship until God produces his greatest creation: Man. Unable to remain subservient to God if it means bowing down to humanity, Lucifer begins his dark descent and is cast out – only to plot his revenge.
Paradise Lost begins production at the turn of the year in Sydney is slated to hit theaters in 2013.
