Having already played a Roman soldier in 2010's Centurion, man-of-the-moment Michael Fassbender wants to return to ancient times for a new movie based on the Irish mythological hero Cuchulainn.

The chariot-riding warrior - whose name is sometimes spelled Cu Chulainn and is sometimes written in English as Cuhullin, similar to how it is pronounced - was famed for his mighty deeds and terrifying battle rage.

The name has been referenced across popular culture including comics, books, sports, music, games and cartoons, while the hero's childhood moniker Setanta is used by a Dublin-based sports broadcaster.

Fassbender is developing the new film with Public Enemies scribe Ronan Bennett, who has been working on the project since last year, according to ScreenDaily. Both are based in Northern Ireland, where the legend is rooted.

The project has the working title Irish Myths. Fassbender is expected to star as the hero, but no director or other casting is in place.

Fassbender and Bennett have raised development finance for the film through their London-based production company Finn McCool Films.

在去年先后精彩演繹了“萬磁王”、榮格以及性癮者等令人印象深刻的角色之后,當(dāng)紅男星邁克爾·法斯賓德日前又將目光鎖定在了一位傳奇角色身上——他將與曾在《無恥混蛋》中合作過的編劇羅蘭·本奈特共同打造一部講述愛爾蘭神話英雄庫丘林(Cú Chulainn/Cúchulainn)的影片,而法斯賓德就將飾演這位愛爾蘭最偉大英雄之一的傳奇人物。

庫丘林原名瑟坦達(dá)(Setanta)生活在公元7世紀(jì)左右的愛爾蘭北部,因幼年自衛(wèi)中殺死庫蘭(Culann)兇猛的看門犬而獲名庫丘林,他擁有半人半神的血統(tǒng)以及超人的格斗技能,年僅17歲時(shí)便單槍匹馬擊退了康諾特部落的Mebh女王大軍。在預(yù)言里,他因偉大的英雄之舉而獲得了永恒的名望,因此也被人們拿來與希臘英雄阿喀琉斯 (Achilles)作比較。庫丘林的英雄事跡被收錄在公元8世紀(jì)的阿爾斯特史詩(Ulster Cycle)中,也被譽(yù)為“阿爾斯特獵犬”(Hound of Ulster)。

值得一提的是,此前法斯賓德曾在《300勇士》中飾演過浴血奮戰(zhàn)的斯泰利奧斯(Stelios),所以雖然我們還無法得知此次他會(huì)把庫丘林的哪些英雄傳說搬上大銀幕,但對(duì)于有著愛爾蘭德國雙重血統(tǒng)的他來說,與身為北愛爾蘭人的本奈特合作自然水到渠成。

在經(jīng)歷了忙碌的2011年之后,34歲的法斯賓德的未來事業(yè)表依然排得滿滿當(dāng)當(dāng),除了已經(jīng)上映的《制勝一擊》和即將亮相的《普羅米修斯》,他還將出演布萊丹·格里森執(zhí)導(dǎo)的《雙鳥泳河》,與老搭檔史蒂夫·麥奎因三度合作的《黑奴十二年》,以及在《X戰(zhàn)警:第一戰(zhàn)》續(xù)集中重拾“萬磁王”一角。