Vin Diesel Marches Hannibal Into Production

Since Colin Farrell covered the life story of conqueror Alexander The Great of Macedon in "Alexander," it's time for another epic tale of a renowned historical figure. Conveniently enough, Vin Diesel is about due for another big movie, one on a big budget like "The Chronicles of Riddick" but that also exhibits more dramatic talent than attitude. But, Diesel is not just starring in a movie about the legendary Hannibal Barca, he's also directing.

The Carthaginian general Hannibal is most well known for having led his army of 50,000 men through the Alps on elephants to launch an attack on Rome in the 3rd century B.C. This successful campaign is why we remember Hannibal as one of the most brilliant military strategists of ancient times. Now with Vin Diesel choosing prime shooting locations in the Dominican Republic, Spain, and California, Hannibal will be invading theaters in the not-too-distant future.

Diesel will be basing his film on Ross Leckie's book of the same title, "Hannibal," written in a style that allows the reader to experience Hannibal's life through his own fictional eyes. And, it seems that Leckie will have a hand in the writing of the film. Of course, the book is not written in Punic (Hannibal's native language), but the film's dialogue will be. In the latest movie trend of immersing the audience in a lost culture by using a different tongue, Diesel's "Hannibal" will follow the example set by Mel Gibson with "The Passion Of The Christ" and the upcoming "Apocalypto," departing from the use of English in favor of painstaking verisimilitude. One can only hope that the film's content will strive for the same level of authenticity.

This is hardly a new project for Diesel. He's been talking about it since back when the Hollywood buzz was more centered around the Alexander project that Leonardo DiCaprio was attached to do with Baz Luhrmann than it was around Oliver Stone's "Alexander" with Colin Farrell. Back then, Diesel did cite a Mel Gibson project as part of his inspiration, though it was not "The Passion Of The Christ" but rather "Braveheart" in its war epic, Oscar-winning grandeur.

Though Diesel has explored the lighter side of acting lately with films like "The Pacifier" and "Find Me Guilty," he seems ready for a challenge, and that is precisely what this will be for him. While he has directed before, nothing has come close to the scale of what "Hannibal" will undoubtedly become, and with this being his biggest turn as actor, producer, and director, his filmmaking mettle will be truly put to the test.