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Writer Peter Briggs to Direct Supernatural Thriller 'Mortis Rex'

by Ethan Anderton
October 28, 2009

When a good writer decides to step up to the director's chair, I almost always get both nervous and excited. We usually know that they can meticulously craft a story on paper, but do they have the keen visual eye and management skills to bring together hundreds of people and bring those pages to life? Hellboy screenwriter Peter Briggs will take on this task as Variety reports he will be directing Mortis Rex, a story set in 122 AD that "centers on a disgraced Roman war hero who is given a last opportunity to redeem his reputation when sent to a Roman garrison beset by a spate of brutal and unexplained killings." Might be pretty damn cool.

The film is being produced under Frelaine Productions by Jim Jacks who was responsible for bringing The Mummy franchise to Universal. The hope is for Mortis Rex to start shooting in the spring, taking production on location to Italy, Eastern Europe and England. No word on any cast being attached to this project, but I like the concept of supernatural elements being brought into a story set so far in the past. With Peter Briggs work on Hellboy, he's certainly no stranger to introducing the supernatural into historical settings. We'll be watching this with great interest. Some early concept art for this can be seen over on Bloody-Disgusting.

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