Alexander Skarsgard and Benjamin Walker are both making a shot at summer movie stardom this year, though Skarsgard's effort-- as part of the ensemble in the ill-fated Battleship-- has already kind of failed him. Walker, a Broadway veteran, will be making his attempt in a few weeks as the star of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, but regardless of how that turns out, either he or Skarsgard could have another shot at glory very soon. Deadline reports that the two are the final contenders to star in Great Wall, the new historical adventure to be directed by Glory and The Last Samurai's Ed Zwick.
Henry Cavill, best known as your future Superman, is already set as the other lead role, which means Zwick is looking for some seriously, seriously muscle-bound dudes to populate his film. And though the movie is set in 15th century China, around the time of the construction of the Great Wall, this isn't a straight-up historical effort-- the two main characters are British warriors traveling through the country who discover that the Chinese aren't building the wall just to keep out the Mongols, but a more deadly and inhuman force. Yes, we're once again putting zombies/vampires/something supernatural into history, something that Vampire Hunter star Walker is now very, very familiar with.
The idea for the film actually comes in part from Max Brooks, the author behind the excellent book World War Z that's already being turned into its own zombie-themed film. We're definitely approaching a mini-trend of films that add supernatural or bizarre elements to the more stiff world of history, but with neither Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter nor World War Z (nor the long-gestating Pride & Prejudice & Zombies) yet out there, it's hard to know if it's a good or bad thing. We'll let you know if it's Walker or Skarsgard who gets the part, but count on seeing two very, very buff dudes fighting an unnatural ancient Chinese horde in the near future.
