by Andy Gibbons

Despite things kicking off in Cannes this week (is it just me or has that started with more of a whimper than a bang?), one news story this morning caught my eye as it looks like Aussie Dial-A-Hero Sam Worthington has gone and landed himself yet another plum role. Not content with saving the future in Terminator: Salvation, re-defining a genre with Avatar and playing the son of a God in Clash Of The Titans, it looks like Sam is about to take on the part of literary adventurer Allan Quartermain in a new movie from DreamWorks.

The character of Quartermain was created by author H. Rider Haggard and debuted in the novel King’s Solomon’s Mines before returning in the follow-up Allan Quatermain. He was very much the Victorian outdoorsman of the British Empire, hunting big game and exploring the African continent. But in a twist, this update will be set in a time where humans no longer live on Earth however Quatermain returns for one more epic adventure. The hero has previously been played on the big screen by the likes of Stewart Granger, Richard Chamberlain and Sean Connery.

According to Heat Vision, Quartermain will also see Sam dip his toe into the producing pool for the first time, teaming up with Alfred Gough and Miles Millar in the process. Gough and Millar are best known as the screenwriters behind such cinematic gems as The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, Herbie: Fully Loaded and Spider-Man 2. Now I’m a big Quartermain fan and think that Sam could do a bang-on job here but I am a bit worried about the whole ‘sci-fi’ thing they’ve got going on – why is it necessary? Hopefully the script will provide answers but until then I shall reserve judgement. And the fact that the last movie Gough and Miller produced together was Hannah Montana: The Movie doesn’t exactly fill me with confidence.

Worthington certainly isn’t afraid to make hay while the sun shines – he’s also in talks to head up director Alex Proyas’ period vampire chiller Dracula Year Zero and is currently filming crime thriller The Fields. He’s even (somewhat spuriously) been touted a successor for Daniel Craig as James Bond so you’ve got to feel a bit of sympathy for his peers as it looks like Sam is very much the first port of call these days for any role that requires equal elements of action, brooding and sex appeal.