[Movie News] Hayden Christensen to star as Marco Polo for Paramount
Hayden Christensen, known for playing the emo-moody Anakin Skywalker in the Star Wars prequels, will play the famed traveler Marco Polo for Paramount.
I’m currently watching the Netflix Marco Polo original show which is pretty good, with some strong actors and amazing set pieces. I’ll be interested to see how Paramount will bring the merchant to the big screen and what steps they’ll take to differentiate from the Netflix series.
One of the biggest knocks against Hayden Christensen during the Star Wars prequels was that he can’t act outside of being a moody teenage, which in my opinion was the perfect emotion to showcase Anakin becoming Vader.
Since Star Wars, Christensen has been in a series of bad movies, most recently Outcast with Nicholas Cage. Hopefully, Marco Polo will be a turning point in his still young acting career (he’s only 34 years old).
The actor, who famously portrayed Anakin Skywalker in the Star Wars prequels, will star in Marco Polo, the co-production between Paramount and China Film Group. Also involved are Chinese firms Yuehua Entertainment and Huahua Film & Media Culture, as well Phoenix Entertainment, who all are co-producing the project.
Rob Cohen is directing the feature, which is being positioned as a fantasy-action movie.
Polo was the Venetian merchant who embarked on a 24-year journey into China in the 13th century. His adventures later were chronicled in a book that is widely considered to be the introduction of Chinese culture to Europeans.
Polo is one of history’s great figures who also has great currency in China. Polo’s early years in China currently are being dramatized on a Netflix series.
The last time Christensen acted in a studio movie was with Screen Gems’ 2010 crime-thriller Takers, which also starred Paul Walker and Matt Dillon. He last toplined a studio movie with 2008’s Fox sci-fi adventureJumper.
The actor was nominated for a Golden Globe for 2001’s Life as a House before nabbing the part many in Hollywood were angling for: Anakin, the man who would be Darth Vader.
While the actor got a bit of a post-Star Wars bump, he also developed a reputation for being choosy. After a several-year absence from acting, Christensen slowly has been on the comeback trail and recently wrapped an indie drama titled 90 Minutes in Heaven, which co-stars Kate Bosworth and was directed by Michael Polish (Twin Falls Idaho).
Source: THR
