Some movies go from script to production to release with speed and ease. The Last Witch Hunter is not one of those movies. Originally announced back in early 2010 with Night Watch and Wanted director Timur Bekmambetov attached to direct, this fantasy adventure has been stewing in development hell since then – and is still waiting on a green light from Summit Entertainment.
In 2012, it was revealed that The Last Witch Hunter might have found the magic ingredient needed to get it cooking properly: Vin Diesel (Fast & Furious 6) was said to be in talks for the lead role: an immortal witch hunter, who must track down a coven of witches living in NYC and prevent their wicked plans from coming to fruition.
Diesel has been quite busy over the last couple of years, filming both Fast & Furious 6 and Fast & Furious 7, as well as reprising his titular role in sci-fi action sequel Riddick and playing a walking, talking tree in Guardians of the Galaxy. A photo posted on Diesel’s Facebook page (if you only follow one celebrity on Facebook, it should be this guy) showed a board filled with concept art for The Last Witch Hunter, including a poster with the film’s name on it – just to clear up any doubts about what he might be hinting at.
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The Last Witch Hunter was penned by Cory Goodman (Priest) and based on the concept art it seems to follow the immortal witch hunter’s career through medieval times to the modern day, in true Highlander fashion. The witch hunter’s modern day endeavors force him to ally himself with one of the witches in order to fight the rest of them, which means that a leading lady is the next priority on the casting list.
Diesel captioned the image with the promise that, “I will fill you all in later… but this meeting went well.” This suggests that he’s back in talks for the lead and was pleased by the drawing of himself kitted out in medieval battle gear, complete with battleaxe and sword. Also shown in the photo is director Breck Eisner (The Crazies), who has been attached to the project for years, and Diesel’s two career consultants.
The creative team behind The Last Witch Hunter doesn’t inspire immediate confidence, since Priest was a flop both critically and commercially and Eisner doesn’t yet have any outright hits to his name. The concept art does look cool, though, and with Diesel playing the lead there’s a good chance that this movie would find an audience.
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We’ll keep you updated on The Last Witch Hunter as development continues.
