Phillippe and Bean playing vikings in bloody epic

By Stuart Kemp

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Dutch writer-director Menno Meyjes is setting sail later this year on his Viking epic "Last Battle Dreamer" with Ryan Phillippe, Abbie Cornish and Sean Bean on board, producers said Wednesday.

Meyjes described "Dreamer" as "a love story written in fire and blood." Phillippe will star as a seventh-century Viking warrior named Thorfinn who, along with his older brother, the battle-scarred Hakon (Sean Bean), invades Britain.

Phillippe and Australian actress Cornish, the objects of much tabloid speculation about their friendship, will next be seen together in Kimberly Peirce's "Stop Loss."

Meyjes is now completing post-production on his biopic of Spain's most famous matador, "Manolete," starring Adrien Brody and Penelope Cruz. New Line Cinema is scheduled to roll out Meyjes' "Martian Child," starring John Cusack, in the U.S. in October. Meyjes and Cusack previously collaborated on the Hitler movie "Max."

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter