Ben Barnes as Dorian Gray - First Look

Shock Till You Drop.com received a first photo of Ben Barnes as Dorian Gray.

Ben Barnes as Dorian Gray

Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes) will play the title character in a film adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s “The Picture of Dorian Gray.” The director Oliver Parker is “planning to make a visceral, dark horror story and says the themes of stardom are as relevant as ever.”

“That was my immediate thought as well, that the book’s themes of vanity and the desire for everlasting youth and beauty seem to be incredibly relevant to today’s world (especially in American society, though Dorian Gray does not take place in America).”

Dorian Gray is a young man of impossible physical beauty whose portrait - painted by the artist Basil Hallward - becomes connected on an occult level with the workings of his soul. Drawn into a corrupt and sensual life by the dissolute Lord Henry Wotton, Dorian remains young and beautiful, while the painting ages in his stead, ultimately becoming a monstrosity.

Keira Knightley is set for a busy year

Did you like ‘The Other Boleyn Girl‘? Well, look forward to more!

The BBC’s film unit is to make a sequel to ‘The Other Boleyn Girl’, based on ‘The Boleyn Inheritance‘, another book by Philippa Gregory. The story is told through the eyes of two of Henry VIII’s wives, Anne of Cleves and Katherine Howard.

Keira Knightley is to star in a new film adaptation of Shakespearean tragedy ‘King Lear.’
She will play Cordelia, the youngest daughter of the King, who will be portrayed by Anthony Hopkins. Gwyneth Paltrow is tipped to take the role of Regan, Lear’s treacherous middle daughter. His eldest daughter, Goneril, is yet to be cast.

The $35 million film was announced at the Cannes Film Festival and will feature epic battle sequences, according to its makers.

Next month sees the release of ‘The Edge of Love‘, with Sienna Miller, in which she plays a lover of the poet Dylan Thomas.

She also stars in ‘The Duchess‘, a lavish costume drama based on the life of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire.

Several other projects were announced at the Cannes film festival yesterday, including an adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray‘ starring Ben Barnes, currently thrilling cinema audiences as ‘Prince Caspian in the Narnia sequel.’