The works of William Shakespeare have been adapted in a multitude of ways by various filmmakers, ranging from 10 Things I Hate About You (The Taming of The Shrew) to The Lion King (Hamlet). With the exception of Forbidden Planet (The Tempest), however, crossovers into the science fiction genre have been rare. So guess what's in store now?

Production Weekly, via their Twitter account, has announced that Michael Caine, Ray Winstone, Vinnie Jones, Gerard Depardieu and Derek Jacobi have been cast in Henry5, a "sci-fi" thriller based on Shakespeare's Henry V. Produced by Arclight Films, the movie will be directed by Michael Anderson and the company's website says that the plot synopsis is as follows:

In an age of apocalypse, in a land without a leader, a dissolute prince finds redemption when he crushes a rebellion that threatens to destroy his father's kingdom. But upon assuming the throne himself, he immediately engineers a war against a neighboring state to slake his lust for power.

Despite his enemy possessing weaponry rendering their forces almost invincible, the newly crowned king seizes a glorious victory from the jaws of defeat by ruthlessness and cunning. But for all his wiles there's one thing the young monarch has overlooked. Just as he's prepared to do whatever it takes to ensure victory, so is his enemy...

While searching around for the director, I found his online resume and IMDb page, but the info is fairly limited (though he says that he worked on titles like Superman: The Movie and Flash Gordon, his name doesn't show up in the full credits. Regardless, he's assembled quite an extraordinary cast for his feature directorial debut. Here's hoping he has the skills and that the film has enough backing to create something with this high-potential project.