Crimson Peak, signed on to play country singer Hank Williams in I Saw the Light, and is now in talks to play Judah Ben-Hur in MGM’s remake of the classic tale of revenge and redemption. As previously reported, Wanted director Timur Bekmambetov has been tapped to direct the film.

Assuming Hiddleston signs on as the lead, the next line of business would be casting the role of Messala, Ben-Hur’s closest friend, who betrays him to a life of slavery while sentencing his mother and sister to prison. Ben-Hur spends years on a Roman warship all the while plotting his retribution.

The script was adapted by Keith Clarke (The Way Back) with the most recent draft being penned by Oscar-winning writer John Ridley (12 Years a Slave). The film is rumored to stick more closely to Lew Wallace’s 1880 novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ, than did the record-setting 1959 film. The story takes place during the life of Jesus Christ, which is contrasted with the hostility between Ben-Hur and Messala.

While some might be skeptical of the Ben-Hur story being handled by the director of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, the involvement of Hiddleston and Ridley do inspire some confidence that the film might display a bit of the heart and substance that was evident in the 1959 epic.