“The Count of Monte-Cristo,” the new period epic from the team behind “The Three Musketeers,” is getting ready to hit the market after its five-month shoot wrapped this month.
Producers Dimitri Rassam at Mediawan-owned banner Chapter 2 and Pathé have unveiled a first still of the movie (above), which stars Pierre Niney as the iconic title character.
The film is directed by Matthieu Delaporte and Alexandre de la Patellière, and is a bigscreen adaptation of Alexandre Dumas’ renowned masterpiece revolving around Edmond Dantès, a young sailor who was falsely accused of treason and is imprisoned without trial in the Château d’If, a grim island fortress near Marseille. After many years of captivity, he finally escapes and, under the identity of the Count of Monte Cristo, plans to take revenge on those who have wrongly accused him.
“’The Count of Monte-Cristo’ is one of the greatest stories ever told,” said Delaporte and de la Patellière, whose recent credits include the two-part epic “The Three Musketeers.” The pair described “The Count of Monte-Cristo” as a “veritable myth mixing several cinematic genres – adventure and thriller, layered on top of an immensely powerful love story.”
Delaporte and de la Patelliere said their film tells the story from the point of view of Edmond Dantès, “the first French superhero, who steps from the light into the shadows, assuming the identity of masked avenger.” They added that Niney “will be a Monte Cristo like you’ve never seen.”
Niney, one of France’s best known stars, said: “Like millions of readers all across the world, I was moved and carried away by the great novel which is Monte Cristo. The aspiration and strength of this project are both our commitment and our inspiration. We thrive to make an epic adventure film, with exceptionally strong characters, and at its core… a story of revenge.”
Niney’s credits include “Yves Saint Laurent,” “Franz” and “Black Box.”
Currently in post-production, the film is co-produced by M6 Films and will be broadcast on M6, Canal+ and Ciné+. Fargo Films is a coproducer. Pathé will release the film in theaters in France during the second half of 2024 and is handling international sales.
“’Monte-Cristo’ is a formidable challenge. We are humbly taking on this extraordinary fresco comprising adventure, romance, thriller and vengeance,” Rassam said. “Pathé and I are thrilled to work once again with Matthieu and Alexandre, who had the talent needed to respect the DNA of this masterpiece, even as they came up with a modern and truly cinematic vision.”
The producer, who is a history buff, delivered this year’s two-part saga “The Three Musketeers,” the second installment of which is currently having a healthy box office run in France.
Pathé CEO Ardavan Safaee said the company was proud to bring “the most beautiful French literary works to the screen, a story and a character that inspired so many others, in France and around the world.”
“‘The Count of Monte-Cristo,’ it must be said, is the original masked avenger story, a story of treason and of an impossible redemption. No one could sum that up in one sentence better than Dumas himself: ‘Hate is blind, anger thoughtless, and he who pours himself a cup of vengeance may drink a very bitter brew,” Safaee continued.
