Photo credit: Reuters.com

Hercules: The Legend Begins Director Renny Harlin (Cliffhanger, Die Hard 2) bills an original story about love and war, casts Kellan Lutz of Twilight as the mythological hero famed for his massive strength and newcomer Gaia Weiss as Hercules' love interest, Hebe the Princess of Crete. Supporting cast includes Liam McIntyre of Spartacus, Scott Adkins of The Expendables 2 and Roxanne Mckee, known as Louise in Hollyoaks.

Liam McIntyre joins Hercules: The Legend Begins

Photo credit: https://twitter.com/Liam_J_McIntyre

The trailer shows the exile of Hercules after Hebe is set to marry another man. The film tells of his journey to avenge his friends and return to his homeland. Lutz is taking a similar mentality of love and war he is very familiar with, after being famed for his role as Emmett Cullen in the Twilight series.

"We didn't want to make a movie that is just this brooding guy who's just going from fight to fight, and just being violent and brutish," Harlin said. "For us, the love story ws very much the heart and key to his character and his story."

The musclebound Greek hero, Hercules appeared first on the big screen in a series of Italian movies from the 1950s to the 60s. The role has been played by countless of actors over the years, most notably of which is Arnold Schwarzenegger who starred in a 1970 cult film entitled Hercules in New York, while Disney also produced a top-grossing animated film in 1997 with Tate Donovan as Hercules' voice.

Hercules: The Legend Begins is one of two Hercules movies coming out in 2014. It is pitting against its rival Paramount and MGM movie entitled Hercules: The Thracian Wars, which stars Dwayne Johnson "The Rock" and is scheduled to hit UK cinemas two weeks earlier on July 25. It is directed by Brett Ratner.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson stars Hercules: The Thracian Wars

Photo credit: Reuters.com

The Thracian Wars introduces a resentful Hercules who turns his back on the gods and languishes as a mortal mercenary, after having endured his 12 labours. Summoned by the King of Thrace, he gets a chance for redemption and trains an army to fight against a vicious warlord.

The Legend begins, on the other hand, serves mainly as an origin tale, a man's story from being a boy to a real and human Hercules. He falls in love, gets heartbroken and goes through anguish, sadness, loneliness and remorse. It's not about superpowers.

Watch the official Hercules: The Legend Begins trailer now and let us know what you think:

Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hd9D3bZdSmY