Earlier this month, we brought you news of Benjamin Walker (Flags of Our Fathers, Kinsey) cast in Legendary Pictures’ adaptation of John Milton’s epic 17th-century poem, Paradise Lost. Walker will play the archangel Michael opposite Bradley Cooper’s Lucifer in the Alex Proyas-helmed flim.

Now, Variety reports that the angel of death has found a rather handsome face. Male model turned actor Djimon Hounsou (The Tempest, Blood Diamond) has been cast as Abdiel, the angel of death. You might remember him as the statuesque man in Janet Jackson’s 1992 music video for “Love Will Never Do Without You.” Hounsou was nominated for two Oscars in 2004 and  2007 for In America and Blood Diamond respectively.

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.

Legendary’s Paradise Lost isn’t to be confused with the trio of films recounting the saga of the West Memphis 3 (Paradise Lost: The Child Murders of Robin Hood Hills, Paradise Lost 2: Revelations, and upcoming Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory) by filmmakers Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky. These films tell the story of “three men, who were incarcerated for 18 years, were convicted in the 1993 murders of three eight-year-old boys who were found next to a muddy creek in the wooded Robin Hood Hills area of West Memphis, Ark.”

Legendary’s Paradise Lost begins production at the turn of the year in Sydney is slated to hit theaters in 2013.