Ben-Hur trailer: Jack Huston is off to the (chariot) races

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Huston is taking over from Heston.

Paramount and MGM have released the first trailer for their upcoming take on Ben-Hur, starring Jack Huston as Judah Ben-Hur, the role Charlton Heston originated in the 1959 classic. Ben-Hur follows the disgraced prince as he’s falsely charged with treason and forced into slavery by his own adopted brother (Toby Kebbell). He soon returns in a quest for vengeance, as a man named Ilderim (Morgan Freeman) offers to sponsor and train him to become a top chariot racer.

Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted) is directing, with Rodrigo Santoro, Nazanin Boniadi, Ayelet Zurer, and Sofia Black D’Elia also starring. Like its Heston-led counterpart, the new Ben-Hur is based on Lew Wallace’s 1880 novel. The 1959 film won 11 Academy Awards, a record number for any single film and one that still stands. (It’s now tied with Titanic and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.)

The new Ben-Hur hits theaters on Aug. 12.

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