Elodie Yung, vet of action pics G.I. Joe: Retaliation and District 13: Ultimatum, has become just the second female actor cast in Summit’s Gods of Egypt, which already boasts Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Game of Thrones), Gerard Butler (300), Brenton Thwaites (forthcoming in Oculus and Maleficent), Geoffrey Rush (The King’s Speech), and Chadwick Boseman (42) on its call sheet. Yung will play the goddess Hathor in the pic, which borrows from Egyptian mythology and focuses on the interplay of gods and men in a way that would appear to be similar to what Clash of the Titans did with Greek lore.
A definitive history of the roles and relationships among the pantheon of Egyptian gods and goddesses can be hard to pin down, but Hathor traditionally holds a close relationship with both Horus and Ra, both of whom will appear in Gods of Egypt. Horus, to be played by Coster-Waldau, is one of the film’s protagonists, partnering with a human thief, Bek (Thwaites), to try to avenge the wrongs inflicted by Set (Butler). Ra, meanwhile, will be played by Rush and seems to be in more of a sideline role. Hathor is alternatively depicted as the mother of either Ra or Horus, or else the daughter of Ra. Given the age difference between Rush and Yung, we’re betting this is the version of the deity which makes it to the big screen. It’s possible that she could be ret-conned into a romantic interest for Horus rather than his mother, which would allow for a certain parallelism between Horus and Bek, whose motivation according to the early reports involves his own love interest being cursed by Set.
That love interest, and the film’s first cast female, will be Zaya, played by newcomer Courtney Eaton, whose only other screen credit is in the 2015 Tom Hardy-starring Mad Max: Fury Road.
Gods of Egypt will be directed Alex Proyas (I, Robot) and will shoot in Australia. It is expected to hit theaters in February, 2016.
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