New Cast Members for ‘Ben-Hur’

Gal Gadot’s schedule just got a lot busier. The same day that Warner Bros. posts release dates for two Justice League movies and Wonder Woman movie, The Hollywood Reporter reveals that Gadot might play Esther in the upcoming Ben-Hur remake. In the film, Esther is a slave owned by Judah Ben-Hur (Charlton Heston in the original, Jack Huston in the remake). He sets her free right before her arranged marriage though when he encounters her years later it is revealed that she did not go through with the union. The two fall in love and eventually marry.

Also announced today by Deadline, Pedro Pascal, known for his brief but memorable turn as Oberyn Martell on HBO’s Game of Thrones, will play Pontius Pilate. According to Deadline, Pilate will play a much larger role in the remake than in the first film in an effort to be more faithful to the original novel by Lew Wallace. Timur Bekmambetov will direct, Keith Clarke wrote the script and John Ridley (12 Years A Slave) gave it a second pass. Toby Kebbell also stars as Ben-Hur’s rival Messala along with Morgan Freeman as Ildarin, who teaches Ben-Hur how to be a chariot racer.

The Ben-Hur remake is scheduled for Feburary 2016.