Deadline reported today that Lionsgate intends to make an epic trilogy of feature films all about the famed Roman emperor Julius Caesar (100 – 44 BC) to be called Emperor. These films will be based on the series of historical fiction novels by Conn Iggulden (The Gates of Rome and The Field of Swords), which focus on the life of young Caesar, and how his relationship with Marcus Brutus evolved over the years. As we know from history (and from Shakespeare) Brutus eventually murdered Caesar in the Roman senate on the Ides of March.
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The screenplay for these proposed films will be hammered out by a slew of respected Hollywood screenwriters including William Broyles Jr. (Cast Away and Apollo 13), Stephen Harrigan (Hallmark’s version of Cleopatra), Burr Steers (Pride, Prejudice, and Zombies) and Ian Mackenzie Jeffers (The Grey).
For those expecting a dry historical polemic, rest at ease. The producers have said that the Emperor films will be more “fact based” than factual, and will resemble the tone of 300 and Game of Thrones rather than I, Claudius. It will essentially be the superhero origin story of the West’s most notorious leader. Here’s a quote from the studio:
“Combining the sweep of 300 with the intrigue of Game of Thrones, this is the part of the story of the mighty Julius Caesar that nobody knows – his emergence alongside Brutus as young powerhouses in Rome, a fresh and contemporary retelling of their rivalries, passions and jealousies, captured in a movie with breath-taking action, spectacular visual effects and epic scope.”
No tears for Caesar, but more news as it comes down the aqueduct.
Witney Seibold is a contributor to the CraveOnline Film Channel, and co-host of The B-Movies Podcast. You can follow him on “Twitter” at @WitneySeibold, where he is slowly losing his mind.
