While some actors take great care in how they appear on screen, shying away from roles in which their faces may be disfigured or seen in a less than glamorous light, don’t try and sell that philosophy to Aaron Eckhart. The actor had no hesitation in watching half his face get eaten away in “The Dark Knight” and how he’s set to take another big league role in a film that won’t exactly let his chiseled features shine.
Beating the bakers dozen mix of other Frankenstein movies in the works, Eckhart will take the lead in “I, Frankenstein.” An adaptation of Kevin Grevioux‘s Darkstorm Studios graphic novel it’s a genre mashup of sorts, relocating Frankenstein to a modern day setting and pitting him against two clans of supernatural creatures who are looking to take over the human world. The film will be directed by Stuart Beattie — wait, who?
If the name isn’t entirely familiar, he’s the scribe behind “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl,” “30 Days of Night,” “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” and “Australia” and most importantly, he’s the director of the big Aussie hit “Tomorrow, When the War Began.” That “Red Dawn” riffing film smashed box office records at home and there are already plans for sequels, so there is no doubt that Beattie knows his way around blockbuster material. (Though, why that film hasn’t made its way stateside yet is baffling).
Lionsgate are shepherding the movie and filming will kick off in January. But if you want your fill of Handsome Aaron beforehand, he’ll be in “The Rum Diary” opening at the end of the month.
