`Ben-Hur` remake confirmed for 2016 release

Los Angeles: The remake of epic historical drama film `Ben-Hur` will hit theatres on February 26, 2016. The movie scripted by John Ridley is set to be produced by Mark Burnett and Roma Downey, reportedly. Paramount and MGM are working together to bring the remake. Timur Bekmambetov (`Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter`) is set to direct it from a script by `12 Years A Slave` writer John Ridley and `The Way Back` scribe Keith Clarke. The film is based on Lew Wallace`s 1880 novel titled `Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ`. It revolves around a falsely accused nobleman who survives years of slavery and sets out a journey to take vengeance on the person who betrayed him. The story was first adapted by MGM in a 1925 epic silent film starring Ramon Novarro and Francis X Bushman. A remake released in 1959 featured Charlton Heston, Stephen Boyd, Jack Hawkins, and Hugh Griffith. The remake won a record 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director (William Wyler), Best Actor in a Leading Role (Heston), and Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Griffith). No film matched the feat until the brilliant `Titanic` in 1997 and then `The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King` in 2003.