Paul Bettany’s upcoming picture, Legion, has me pretty excited even though we haven’t gotten much more than a rudimentary plot description for the movie. I’m so excited, in fact, that the idea that Bettany will be reteaming with the film’s director, Scott Stewart, has me intrigued about their second potential collaboration already.

The Hollywood Reporter ran the news that Bettany is in talks to star in Stewart’s next picture, Priest. Where Legion will see Bettany as an archangel, this second film would see the actor as a priest who turns against the church in his effort to track down a group of vampires who have kidnapped his niece.

I know that a second picture puts a lot of pressure on both Bettany and Stewart to deliver with Legion, but I think Bettany is up to it. The actor has a pretty fantastic range and is in dire need of more screen time. Between the albino in The DaVinci Code, playing an archangel in Legion, and now possibly a stint as a warrior priest in Priest, you have to admit Bettany is selecting some interesting roles thematically when it comes to religion. I wonder if these are intentional or just coincidental.