Jack Huston and Morgan Freeman Star in First Ben-Hur Trailer

Posted on March 17, 2016

When you think of Ben-Hur, you think of Charlton Heston chariot racing his best friend in the Roman arena. The classic film has been remade by director Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted). The new film stars Jack Huston as Judah Ben-Hur, a young prince whose adopted brother Messala (Toby Kebbell) lies to the authorities and gets him forced into slavery by the Romans.

Freed when his ship sinks, Ben-Hur survives and meets Ilderim (Morgan Freeman) who helps him plot his revenge against his no good brother who got their mother and sister killed. He enters the infamous chariot race where he the one who finishes first dies last. It's a no holds barred race between him and Massala, who hasn't mellowed a bit over the years and shows no remorse for his actions.

Both films were based on the 1880 novel by Lew Wallace, Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ. The new film deviates from the book in a couple of major plot points. In the new film Ben-Hur is betrayed by his brother, not his friend. That certainly up the stakes.

The film also stars Rodrigo Santor as Jesus Christ, Pilou Asbaek as Pontius Pilate, Nazanin Boniadi as Esther, Marwan Kenzari as Druses, Ayelet Zurer as Naomi and Julian Kostov as Lucius. The film hits theaters on August 12th. Take a look:

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