Casey Affleck Joins 'Paradise Lost' As Gabriel; Camilla Belle May Play Eve

The latest addition to Alex Proyas' adaptation of Milton's canonical poem Paradise Lost is Casey Affleck, who is in talks to play the God's messenger, the angel Gabriel, in the film. Along with him comes Camilla Belle (10,000 B.C.), who is reportedly the top choice to play Eve.

Deadline reports that Belle is the choice for both Legendary Entertainment and Alex Proyas, but that the deal isn't set yet. THR reports on Casey Allfeck, and it sounds like that deal is a lot closer to being closed.

So the cast is shaping up to feature Bradley Cooper as Lucifer, Ben Walker as the angel Michael, and Djimon Hounsou as Abdiel, the angel of death. Additionally, Rufus Sewell, who starred in the Alex Proyas film Dark City, is said to have a role in Paradise Lost as well.

Recounting what we've heard before, there will be three major battles in the film, in Heaven, Hell and Eden, with Lucifer and his armies on one side and Michael, Abdiel and the six-winged Gabriel on the other. Alex Proyas once explained,

It's not just armies battling in an epic war. This is an adventure about the origins of good and evil after Lucifer's rebellion gets him cast out of Heaven and leads to a struggle with his brother archangel over the soul of mankind, starting with Adam and Eve. That is the scope of the narrative here, and we've tried to say as faithful as possible to Milton's text, particularly its focus on Lucifer's evolution and the birth of evil. It's a family saga, about a group of brothers, two in particular, who are on divergent paths, and Lucifer's feelings of betrayal by his father and family that forge his descent into evil.

Paradise Lost has had a host of writers working on the script over the years: Byron Willinger and Philip de Blasi wrote an early draft; Stuart Hazeldine developed that draft and then Lawrence Kasdan and Ryan Condal did polish work. The film will shoot in Austalia, with over a year of post-production planned to augment the live-action photography with extensive digital animation.

Paradise Lost doesn't have a firm release date yet, but Warner Bros. plans a late 2013 window. Here's the official line on the story, and you can get more info from our Comic Con coverage:

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.