Sofia Black-D'Elia roped in for 'Ben-Hur' reboot

Washington: Sofia Black-D'Elia has landed the role of Judah's sister in the upcoming remake of 'Ben-Hur'.

The historical epic revolves around the blood feud between Judah Ben-Hur and Messala that erupts when Messala condemns his childhood friend to slavery and certain death aboard a Roman warship, Deadline.com reported.

Black-D'Elia will take the role of Tirzah, who becomes quietly political when the Roman Empire takes control of Jerusalem and is imprisoned alongside her mother and both contract leprosy before Judah returns home to free his family and avenge them all.

The film, will be produced by Mark Burnett, Keith Clarke, Jason Brown and Sean Daniel for The Sean Daniel Company, and Joni Levin for Point Blank Productions and will hew more closely to the 1880 Lew Wallace novel 'Ben-Hur: A Tale Of The Christ' than the 1959 Charlton Heston classic.

The film, which is due to begin filming in Europe for a February 26, 2016 release, has also roped in 'Game of Thrones' star Pedro Pascal and Nazanin Boniadi from 'Homeland'.