Deadline have reported this week that Legendary Pictures have halted the planned production for early next year of an adaptation of John Milton’s epic poem about the fight between heaven and hell, Paradise Lost due to budgeting issues.
The Alex Proyas (I, Robot, Knowing) directed film was set to star Bradley Cooper as Lucifer, Benjamin Walker to play the archangel Michael and Diego Boneta playing Adam whilst Camilla Belle was to play Eve. As well these names, there was to be a host of other actors lined up for the action epic.
Deadline are saying that the film isn’t scrapped; rather, Legendary’s Thomas Tull, Jon Jashni and producer Vincent Newman will continue developing it to rework a budget that had passed the $120 million mark by 10% or 15%. The picture has crewed up for an Australia shoot and the talent and below the line is learning about the postponement right now.
In the past, films including Moneyball and American Gangster had their plugs pulled within a month of production and bounced back, but it is always a shock when a large film has its start date scratched so close to production, even if it is temporary.
