'Battle: LA' Director Jonathan Liebesman Signed For 'Epic' Julius Caesar Film
I'm not certain that I'd say Battle: Los Angeles director Jonathan Liebesman truly delivered with that ground-level aliens attack movie, but he certainly made an impression on Warner Bros. The studio already has the guy directing the Clash of the Titans sequel that is wrapping this week. As a follow-up to that picture, he is now signed to make an "epic-sized" account of Roman leader Gaius Julius Caesar.
Deadline has the news, with the intriguing report that Chris Boal, brother of The Hurt Locker co-writer/producer Mark Boal, is writing.
The film might not exactly take the full biopic route, as Deadline references Patton, explaining that the film will similarly focus on one point in Caesar's life. That will be when he fought in Spain and built the 10th Legion that helped him take power in Rome. (Companies involved may be tantalized, too, by the possibility of a sequel following the leader's later career. Chris Boal has already chronicled the aftermath of Caesar's murder in a play, 23 Knives.)
As you'd expect with Jonathan Liebesman directing this won't be a representation of a subtle personal and political power struggle, but a massive film with action setpieces. Those were a big part of the pitch that closed this deal. Given that the idea to make this movie was hatched during the creation of the Clash of the Titans sequel, can we expect to see Sam Worthington as Caesar? His other commitments might make that difficult, but I wouldn't be surprised to see that being the lead casting choice.