The Count of Monte Cristo, the 19th century tale of a falsely imprisoned young man Edmond Dantes who gains his education while jailed, last saw a big screen adaptation in Kevin Reynold's 2002 sword-fighting movie which starred Jim Caviezel and Guy Pearce. The feature was a minor hit at the time, but it has since gone on to gather quite a following.
THR broke the news first that Alexandre Dumas' ‘The Count of Monte Cristo' will receive a graphic novel update. David S. Goyer will reportedly sign on for the director's chair for an adaptation of the classic revenge tale that is being made by Constantin Films.
Michael Robert Johnson, who wrote Guy Ritchie's modernized take on Sherlock Holmes, as well as Constantin's in-production disaster movie Pompeii, penned the script.
Goyer, who is more well-known as that guy who writes scripts for superhero movies including The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises, and Superman, Man of Steel, told THR:
During my career I've enjoyed re-invigorating and contextualizing classic characters that are relatable to contemporary audiences. Michael has written an excellent script, and I'm going to enjoy bringing our take of the rich and textured world of Monte Cristo to the big screen.”
Since Constantin has also produced Paul W.S. Anderson's ultra-modern spin on a literary classic The Three Musketeers, just make it less silly than Musketeers, please, Dave.
Goyer's past directorial efforts included The Unborn, The Invisible, Zig Zag and Blade: Trinity. His upcoming project is the Starz series Da Vinci's Demons and, of course, Man of Steel which opens June 14th, 2013.
The Count of Monte Cristo (1975)
