Chariots of Fire! Ben-Hur Remake in the Works

"Ben-Hur" is going to be remade by MGM studios, with sources telling Deadline that the focus of the storyline will feature more heavily on Jesus Christ.

The 1959 movie, based on the Lew Wallace novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ, won 11 Oscars and is considered one of the most successful Christian movies ever made. The 1880 Lew Wallace novel Ben-Hur: A Tale Of The Christ outsold every book but The Bible until it was eclipsed by Gone With The Wind.  The story focuses on the Jewish prince Ben-Hur who is forced to live for many years as a Roman slave, before he rises to power and meets Christ, witnessing a number of miracles along the way. The planned remake will reportedly be more faithful to Wallace's novel and focus more on Jesus' life, while at the same time interjecting Ben-Hur's account.

Deadline reported that MGM has emerged from bankruptcy following the massive success of the 2012 James Bond movie "Skyfall" and the "Lord of the Rings" prequel "The Hobbit," both of which have made around $1 billion worldwide in terms of box office success. This has provided the ability for MGM to buy the "Ben-Hur" script from screenwriter Keith Clarke.

Sean Daniel and Joni Levin have been chosen as the producers for the remake. Levin has been behind a number of big Hollywood projects, including the "Mummy" franchise.

"It's one of the great stories of friendship and betrayal, and faith, that works in the context of a big onscreen action thriller for a global audience," Daniel has said of Wallace's novel.

No release date has yet been set for the project, and producers will only now begin to look at casting choices.

Movie fans are preparing for a number of major biblical movies that will be hitting the big screen in the next few years, with Darren Aronofsky's "Noah" starring Russel Crowe, "Pontius Pilate" starring Brad Pitt, and no less than two movies about Moses, directed by Steven Spielberg and Ridley Scott respectively, all in the works.