Chris Hemsworth Considering New Allan Quatermain Movie

Chris Hemsworth may be heading out to find King Solomon’s mines, lost cities of gold and other undiscovered locales. The Tracking Board is reporting that the Thor actor is considering attaching himself to the role of pulp hero/explorer character Allan Quatermain in a new spec script of the same name that is hitting Hollywood written by 20 Mississippi scribe Barnett Brettler.

Reportedly, agency CAA is attempting to package Hemsworth with the script which Sony has expressed interest in acquiring. Earlier, Hemsworth was attached to another pulp hero, Doc Savage, which Shane Black has been developing also over at Sony.

Presumably, if the first film does well, it could lead to a new franchise for Sony. And given that the studio is currently facing the prospect of losing the highly lucrative James Bond series in the very near future, they are looking at all the opportunities they can to bolster their

All of this is fairly provisional and could not come together fully. Still, as a fan oft he character having read a number of the Quatermain adventure novels growing up, I am excited that Hollywood is oncea gain looking at bringing the character back to the big screen. Though I do have a small ounce of caution tempering my enthusiasm, as the character has not always fared well in previous big screen incarnations.

The character of Allan Quatermain was created by H. Rider Haggard and appeared in a total of 14 adventure novels starting with 1885’s King Solomon’s Mines. As a marksman, big game hunter and explorer, his adventures often found him in the heart of the at-the-time uncharted areas of Africa during the British Colonial era. The character has appeared in numerous films, starting in 1919 with back-to-back silent adaptions of the novels King Solomon’s Mines and Allan Quatermain. Stewart Granger headlined a rather faithful adaption of King Solomon’s Mines in 1950 while Canon Films put out two Quatermain films – another adaption of King Solomon’s Mines and Allan Quatermain And The Lost City Of Gold – in the 1980s with Richard Chamberlain as the titular hero. As the books have long ago fallen into the public domain, comics writer Alan Moore appropriated the character for his literature mashup series The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Sean Connery appeared as the aging Quatermain in the poorly received film adaption of the comic.

There is no word yet as to whether Brettler is adapting one of Rider’s novels or has penned an original story featuring the character.