New Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter Details and Photos
Posted 02.08.12 by Ryan
We're still waiting for a trailer for director Timur Bekmambetov's (Wanted) adaptation of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, but thankfully, Entertainment Weekly has released more new photos to go along with the new poster and stills that were released last month.
Based on author-screenwriter Seth Grahame-Smith's (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, the upcoming Dark Shadows) book, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter mixes historical fact with a (fictional?) back-story that follows Lincoln (Benjamin Walker) as an ax-wielding vampire slayer whose own mother was was murdered by vampires. "The joke is in the title, and then we fully commit to it," said Walker to EW. The actor revealed that he will play Lincoln in various stages of his life during the course of the movie that co-star Anthony Mackie (The Hurt Locker) has previously described as a "a recontextualization of history".
It’s told through the structure of Lincoln’s actual life. You not only see these huge fight scenes and great moments of drama, but you get sort of the greatest hits of Lincoln’s life, from the mysterious death of his mother through the Gettysburg address. You get a portrait of this man, as well as a thriller.
The photos mostly come from an earlier part of Lincoln's life, when Lincoln visited Louisiana and saw the horrors of slavery. In the movie, Lincoln's motivation to visit Louisiana is to save Mackie from a cabal of Southern vampires. It's not long before Lincoln is put in a compromising position by his main adversary Adam (Rufus Sewell) and another powerful vampire (played by supermodel Erin Wasson). "It’s the first time in the movie he has had to exercise his skills on his own, said Walker of the scene. "He’s choosing his new targets, and choosing how to use these newfound skills. Who knows if he will be successful? I mean, we do..."
If these photos have you concerned that Lincoln gets caught every time he faces a vampire, fear not. Producer Simon Kinberg previously revealed that audiences will see Lincoln "hacking people's heads off and killing vampires left and right." Whether positing the former president as a vampire-murdering bad-ass is disrespectful, Walker isn't worried. "I think he’d love our movie," Walker admitted.
His legacy is safe. It’s something we all agree on and we’re all proud of as Americans. Once you know that, nobody’s going to actually get hurt. We all do idolize him. We do look for qualities he exemplified and try to emulate that in our lives. Nobody gets their feelings hurt because we know who he was. If you throw vampires into the mix, it’s just another way to see someone we already think of as a hero be heroic.
Produced by Tim Burton (Edward Scissorhands, Sweeney Todd), Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter was adapted by Grahame-Smith and co-stars Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Mary Todd Lincoln, the President's wife; Dominic Cooper as Henry Sturges, Lincoln's fanged mentor; and Robin McLeavy as Nancy Hanks Lincoln, the former president's mother.
Next Showing: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter opens June 22nd