The Eagle of the Ninth

The Eagle of the Ninth is based on the 1954 children's book of the same name by Rosemary Sutcliff, about the legendary Roman Ninth Legion, which is said to have gone into battle against the Picts in Scotland in 117 AD and never come back. It's currently being filmed in Hungary and Scotland, and is directed by Kevin Macdonald, best known for the multi-award winning pictures Last King of Scotland and Touching the Void.

Hot new young Hollywood actor Channing Tatum (pictured) will star as Marcus Aquila, a young Roman soldier who travels to Scotland 20 years after the rumoured destruction of the Ninth Legion to discover its fate. His father was commander of the dissapeared army, and he wants to restore his reputation and retrieve the Ninth's eagle standard. He's assisted by his uncle, Aquila, played by Donald Sutherland - of M*A*S*H and innumerable other cult classics - and Jamie Bell, who shot to fame in the film Billy Elliot and here plays a young English slave.

Macdonald has expressed his desire for the film to be as historically authentic as possible, to the point of casting exclusively Gaelic-speaking actors in the roles of native Scots (Gaelic wasn't the native language of the time, but it's as close an approximation as possible). The Roman soldiers, to establish a sense of "contemporary symbolism", will all have American accents. The contrast of cultures between the Romans and the Scots will be one of the film's key themes. It's set for release sometime in 2010.