Benjamin Walker, who is most remembered for portraying the title character in the on- and off-Broadway productions of ‘Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson,’ will be playing another president, this time on screen. The actor has been cast as Abraham Lincoln in director Timur Bekmambetov’s upcoming movie ‘Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter,’ Slashfilm.com is reporting. Walker was chosen to play the fictionalized version of the sixteenth president after Adrien Brody, Josh Lucas, Oliver Jackson-Cohen and James D’Arcy all screen-tested for the role, but were past on.
The film, which is based on last year’s novel of the same name by best-selling author Seth Grahame-Smith, will portray Lincoln as a vampire killer. The script was written by Grahame-Smith, and like the novel, the movie will follow Lincoln learning at a young age that his mother was killed by a vampire. As a result, Lincoln develops a vendetta against all vampires and their slave owners.
‘Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter’ is set to be released in 3D either in March or June 2012. After Bekmambetov finishes the film, he’s set to adapt another novel by Grahame-Smith, “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies”.
Written by: Karen Benardello
