Tron: Ares may or may not feature an appearance by the series star, Jeff Bridges, but the actor will be starring in a new live-action adaption of the legendary monster at the heart of the poem of Beowulf. Deadline has revealed that Bridges will be the lead in Grendel for The Jim Henson Company. Studio Palisades Park Pictures will be launching its international sales of the monster film ahead of the sales event in Cannes.

Grendel will involve the monster of Beowulf telling his side of the story. This new interpretation will be helmed by Robert D. Krzykowski, known for The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot. Bridges will be joined by an impressive line-up of actors for an all-star cast, which will include Dave Bautista of Guardians of the Galaxy and Dune: Part Two as Beowulf, Bryan Cranston, who fans know from Breaking Bad, as King Hrothgar, Bridges’ Lebowski co-star Sam Elliott, who was also seen recently in A Star is Born, will play The Dragon, Thomasin McKenzie, the rising star of Last Night in Soho and Old, will be playing Queen Wealhtheow, and Aidan Turner, whose credits includeThe Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, will portray Unferth. The Shaper will be played by famed recording artist and record producer T Bone Burnett, who will also be providing original songs for the film.

The director expressed his interest in adapting this story for the big screen, “Grendel represents everything I love about the movies. John Gardner’s mad masterpiece cleverly tackles what it is to be human through the wild-eyed lens of a monster. It’s an honor to work with such a remarkable group of storytellers, all of whom seek to bring something wonderful and unexpected to audiences now.”

Tamara Birkemoe, the CEO of Stated Palisades Park Pictures, also added, “We are delighted to be introducing this elevated, high-concept story to our distributors around the world. With this brilliant cast, Bob’s vivid vision and the extraordinary creative track record of our friends at The Jim Henson Company, we cannot wait to see Grendel come to life.”

Krzykowski also gets writing credit as he adapts the screenplay from John Gardner’s critically acclaimed novel of the same name. The producers on the project include Brian Henson (The Muppet Christmas Carol, Farscape) and Vince Raisa (The Happytime Murders) for The Jim Henson Company, Krzykowski and Jay Glazer (Body Language, Get Luke Lowe). Glazer and Krzykowski had both acquired the rights to the novel back in 2020. Additional producers are set to include Dennis Berardi (Monster Hunter, Frankenstein), and Jon D. Wagner (Bone Tomahawk, Haunt).

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