tMF | The Movie-Fanatic

Channing Tatum and Jamie Bell are reported to play lead roles in Kevin Macdonald's movie adaptation of a historical drama-adventure called The Eagle of the Ninth. DigitalSpy reports that:

Bell has agreed terms to join the cast, while Channing Tatum is in talks for the historical epic.

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The Eagle of the Ninth is a historical adventure novel for children written by Rosemary Sutcliff and published in 1954. Set in Roman Britain in the second century AD after the building of Hadrian's Wall, it is the story of a young Roman officer Marcus Aquila's search to discover the truth about the disappearance of his father's legion in the north of Britain. Travelling in disguise as a Greek eye doctor beyond Hadrian's Wall he finds that a demoralised and mutinous Ninth Legion was readily destroyed by a great rising of the northern tribes. In part this disgrace was redeemed by a heroic last stand by a small remnant around the legion's eagle standard. Marcus' hope of seeing the lost legion re-established is dashed but he is able to bring back the bronze eagle so that it can no longer serve as a symbol of Roman defeat and as such be a danger to the frontier.

The Eagle of the Ninth is one of Sutcliff's earlier books but may perhaps be her most well-known title. It is the first in a sequence of novels, followed by The Silver Branch, The Lantern Bearers, Sword at Sunset, Dawn Wind, Sword Song, and The Shield Ring; the sequence loosely traces a family, of the Roman Empire and then Britain, who inherit an emerald seal ring bearing the insignia of a dolphin.[ more from the Wiki ]

Channing Tatum Unwrapped was quick to report the casting news:

Set in Britain during the 2nd century A.D., it's the story of a wounded Roman soldier (Channing Tatum) and his Celtic slave (Jamie Bell) who embark on a perilous journey into the far north to discover what happened the Ninth Legion, which went on a mission into the wilds of Scotland 15 years earlier and never came back. The soldier's father was the legion's general, and his disappearance, along with the loss of the legion's symbol, the eponymous eagle, cast a stain upon his family.

Production is set to start in August, and I'm already taking applications from Scottish fans who want to be my eyes and ears during filming. They will be based in Glasgow for approximately 5 or 6 weeks and will then take smaller crews into the Highlands for 3 or 4 weeks. Many of the scenes will be filmed near Loch Lomond, in addition to other Highland areas in Scotland.

The Editors' Blog @Focus Features reported that the movie is enjoying 'brisk business':

While some have reported slow sales at Cannes, Focus Features International has been doing very brisk business with their upcoming Eagle of the Ninth. The story of a Roman soldier and his slave (Channing Tatum and Jamie Bell) off to find a missing brigade of soldiers (the Ninth Legion) will be directed by Kevin McDonald and scripted by Jeremy Brock (who'd worked with McDonald before on The Last King of Scotland). The script is adapted from a best-selling book of the same name by Rosemary Sutcliff. As ScreenDaily and Variety report, Focus Intl. has already pre-sold nearly every territory at the festival.

I am quite excited about this film because Jamie Bell - a tMF favorite- who was outstanding in Defiance and Hallam Foe, will have another challenging role to portray, while up and coming dramatic actor Channing Tatum will also get the chance to further his range as an actor. Now the question is, can Tatum match the acting intensity of the younger Bell?

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