Michael Fassbender to Star in ‘Irish Myths’

Hollywood’s fastest rising star will return to his Irish roots as ScreenDaily reports that Michael Fassbender will star in Irish Myths, a new project he is developing along with writer Ronan Bennett (Public Enemies). The actor will star as Cuchulain, an Irish mythological hero who appears in the stories of the Ulster Cycle, as well as in Scottish folklore.

Often referred to as the “Hound of Ulster”, Cuchulain is comparable to the Greek hero Achilles in that it was prophesied that his heroic actions would give him everlasting fame, but that his life would be a short one. He is also known for his intense battle frenzy which turn him into an unrecognizable monster who knows neither friends nor foes.

This certainly sounds intriguing, at least from a folklore perspective. No director is attached as of yet but development funding is already in place with Fassbender and Bennett producing through their own company, Finn McCool Films. Fassbender had a fantastic 2011 year with his acclaimed turn in X-Men: First Class, Jane Eyre and Shame. He will next be seen in Ridley Scott’s sci-fi epic Prometheus.

Are you a fan of Michael Fassbender? What do you think?

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12 Comments

  1. ruth says:

    Woo hoo! So he gets to use his native Irish brogue then. I just saw some early interviews with him, his accent is adorable!

  2. Rich says:

    In the book ‘Angela’s Ashes,’ Frank McCourt talks a lot about Cuchulain. I get the impression he was one of McCourt’s heroes. (Don’t recall if the movie did the same.) Can’t think of anyone better suited for the role than Fassbender.

  3. i’m not big on mythology, but i am big on Fassbender :)

  4. Gibbs says:

    I’m surprised no one tried to make a movie about these Irish mythical stories before. Meanwhile, we are getting 20 remakes of Disney fairy tales.

    • Castor says:

      Very true Gibbs, so many great tales that few people know about and that Hollywood could retell on film but they always make perplexing choices instead.

  5. Justin says:

    And you know he is going to respect the source material since he is Irish. That’s a match made in heaven.

  6. Sounds like a great project, although I think maybe the “Hound Of Ulster” name that you mentioned might make for a better movie title (and with the way that studios are going these days, they’d probably just shorten that to “The Hound”, which wouldn’t be bad either)… All depending on which way they go with it of course.

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