Ben-Hur Trailer Released

Paramount Pictures and MGM have released a new trailer for Ben-Hur.

Brother Against Brother. Slave Against Empire.

Ben-Hur is the epic story of Judah Ben-Hur (Jack Huston), a prince falsely accused of treason by his adopted brother Messala (Toby Kebbell), an officer in the Roman army. Stripped of his title, separated from his family and the woman he loves (Nazanin Boniadi), Judah is forced into slavery. After years at sea, Judah returns to his homeland to seek revenge, but finds redemption. Based on Lew Wallace's timeless novel, Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ. Also starring Morgan Freeman and Rodrigo Santoro.

Ben-Hur is directed by Timur Bekmambetov. The film stars Jack Huston, Toby Kebbell, Morgan Freeman, Rodrigo Santoro, Nazanin Boniadi, Ayelet Zurer, and Sofia Black D'Elia.

This will be the fourth film adaptation of Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ. The first two adaptations were silent films, the first in 1907 and the second in 1925. The story was adapted again in 1959. The film was directed by William Wyler and starred Charlton Heston and Jack Hawkins and was nominated for 12 Academy Awards, winning 11, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor in a Leading Role, and Best Actor in a Supporting Role.

The new Ben-Hur has been billed as a "re-imagining," "re-adaptation," or "new interpretation" of the source material. Time will tell if the new Ben-Hur is able to stand should-to-shoulder with the cinematic giant that preceded it.

Ben-Hur opens in theaters in 2D, 3D, RealD 3D, Digital 3D and IMAX 3D on Aug. 19, 2016.