Chadwick Boseman has booked a role in Alex Proyas’ Gods Of Egypt, the Lionsgate/Summit Entertainment action-adventure pic that currently list Gerard Butler, Geoffrey Rush, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Brenton Thwaites, and Courtney Eaton among its cast members.
Synopsis for the project reads:
Magic, monsters, gods, and madness reign throughout the palaces and pyramids of the lush Nile River Valley in this sweeping action-adventure inspired by the classic mythology of Egypt. With the survival of mankind hanging in the balance, an unexpected hero undertakes a thrilling journey to save the world and rescue his true love. Set (Gerard Butler), the merciless god of darkness, has usurped Egypt’s throne, plunging the once peaceful and prosperous empire into chaos and conflict. With only a handful of heroic rebels opposing Set’s savage rule, Bek (Brenton Thwaites), a bold and defiant mortal, enlists the aid of the powerful god Horus (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) in an unlikely alliance against the evil overlord. As their breathtaking battle against Set and his henchmen takes them into the afterlife and across the heavens, both god and mortal must pass tests of courage and sacrifice if they hope to prevail in the spectacular final confrontation.
Boseman, who first got the country’s attention starring as Jackie Robinson in 42, has signed up to play Thoth in Gods Of Egypt, which currently has a release date set for February 12, 2016.
Who is/was the god known as Thoth?
Thoth was, among other things, a god of the moon and the inventor of writing who announced and wrote down the judgments of the dead. Thoth is said to have conveyed knowledge of the Underworld, of ethics, of Egyptian geography, and of mysteries. Thoth was worshiped as can be seen in writing from 4th millennium B.C. pyramid texts, through Roman period temple inscriptions. He was most often depicted as a man with the head of an ibis (a type of bird with a long, down-curved bill – see image at right), or a baboon.
Thoth also often held a scribe’s palette and stylus, and other times with an ankh (representing life) and a sceptre (representing power). At one point he acted as the “voice of Ra”, and carried the “Eye of Ra” (a symbol of the power of the sun).
The Greeks associated Thoth with the messenger god Hermes.
There’s a lot more where all that came from; but I doubt any of it really matters, since I’m not expecting the film to rely on existing information about the above characters to tell its story. This is Hollywood after all.
Up next for Boseman, he stars as James Brown in Get On Up, and will feature in Draft Day, which stars Kevin Costner.
