TORONTO — Stars like Kellan Lutz and Kit Harrington are set to strip down to their loincloths and flex their abs — adding some heat to the cold winter months.
Swords-and-sandals season kicks off Jan. 10, 2014 with the release of The Legend of Hercules. It’s followed by Pompeii on Feb. 21 and 300: Rise of an Empire on March 7.
Here are new trailers for three epic movies oozing with testosterone, history and CGI.
THE LEGEND OF HERCULES
Kellan Lutz stars as the titular mythical Greek hero in Hercules, which was directed by Renny Harlin (The Covenant).
Set in Ancient Greece, it’s the story of prince Hercules, who is sold into slavery because of his forbidden love of the Princess of Crete (Gaia Weiss) and must use his extraordinary strength to overthrow the tyrannical rule of the King (Scott Adkins).
Shot in Bulgaria, Hercules boasts epic battle scenes and gladiator fights — as well as the pumped-up physique of 28-year-old Lutz, a former Calvin Klein underwear model best known for playing Emmett Cullen in the Twilight movies.
POMPEII
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Filmed on the soundstages of Toronto’s Cinespace Film Studios, Pompeii stars Kit Harrington (Game of Thrones) as a slave-turned-gladiator who races against time to rescue his true love Cassia (Emily Browning) as Mount Vesuvius erupts and destroys Pompeii.
Directed by Paul W.S. Anderson (Resident Evil), Pompeii stars several Canadians including Kiefer Sutherland, Carrie-Anne Moss and Jessica Lucas.
But it is sure to be a big screen breakout for Harrington, the 26-year-old British actor who said he followed a special diet and pumped up right before scenes to look tough.
300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE
The 2006 epic 300, starring Gerard Butler, was filmed in Montreal. For the sequel, Rise of an Empire, producers chose Bulgaria and California.
Like the original, it is based on the work of Frank Miller. The movie stars Sullivan Stapleton (Gangster Squad) as Themistocles and Rodrigo Santoro (The Last Stand) as Xerces, and follows the advance towards Athens by the Persian Army.
Adding a feminine touch are Lena Headey (Game of Thrones) and Eva Green (Casino Royale).
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