Having played the Kryptonian birth mother of Henry Cavill’s Kal-El in Man of Steel, Ayelet Zurer is set to play the mother of another bigger-than-life cinematic hero. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Zurer has joined the cast of MGM and Paramount’s upcoming Timur Bekmambetov-helmed remake of Ben-Hur where she’ll play Naomi, one parent of Jack Huston’s title character.
Set for a release on February 26, 2016, the new take on Ben-Hur was originally scripted by Keith Clarke (The Way Back), with revisions by Academy Award-winner John Ridley (12 Years a Slave). Morgan Freeman and Toby Kebbell are also attached to star.
Ben-Hur‘s casting is just about set, although the production still needs to replace Gal Gadot in the female lead. She left the project late last month due to her commitments to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Wonder Woman and the rest of the upcoming big screen DC Comics slate.
Zurer isn’t straying far from comic book adaptations herself. She’s set to play Vanessa, the love interest of Vincent D’Onofrio’s Wilson Fisk, on the upcoming Netflix series, “Daredevil.”
(Photo Credit: Andres Otero / WENN.com)
