Could there possibly be a mini-series based on the Ben-Hur story? Well apparently so, and the news comes days after the passing of the star of the film Charlton Heston.

The son of the director of the original film is the one stepping up to develop the mini-series which will base it's story on the 1880 Lew Wallace novel rather than the film version that we all know, or the previous silent version of the story from 1925.

I guess that's one good thing and it won't be tarnishing the performance of Charlton Heston so much, or will it? Will David Wyler, the son of the film director William Wyler who made the big screen Ben-Hur, make his father proud?

Variety through Moviehole have the story that Wyler is developing the US $30 million mini-series and suggests that the religion aspect is going to be toned down in favour of a more spiritual one. Something I find strange as more religion in this story would really ramp up the popularity in America.

"We want to look at the spirituality within the piece rather than directly relating it to a specific religion...It's a very complex story. It's been 50 years since my father's version, and we think we can bring something new and contemporary to it in the same way that 'Gladiator' did for that genre."

It certainly sounds as though they have epic plans, and we know there is an audience out there for this time period on screen, just look at the mini-series Rome.