Bridgerton‘s Regé-Jean Page is headed back to the 19th century. He’s set to star in a new adaptation of Alexandre Dumas‘ The Count of Monte Cristo. Deadline reports that Page will also produce the film.

Page broke out with his role as Simon Basset on the popular Netflix historical romance series Bridgerton; he has since gone on to star in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves and The Gray Man, and can currently be seen alongside Michael Fassbender and Cate Blanchett in Steven Soderbergh‘s Black Bag. The Count of Monte Cristo will be his first leading role in a feature film. Says Page of The Count of Monte Cristo, “Bold, adventurous storytelling with heart is the reason I got into this business, and is the backbone of everything we’re making…that’s why we’re so excited to be bringing The Count Of Monte Cristo to global audiences, unlocking the depths of Dumas’ work in ways not seen yet.” Patrick Ness, who wrote the young adult novels A Monster Calls and Chaos Walking and created the Doctor Who spinoff series Class, is set to pen the film’s screenplay.

What Is ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’ About?

Written in 1844 and inspired by Dumas’ own father, a general in the French Army, The Count of Monte Cristo centers around a man, Edmond Dantès, who is betrayed and framed by his jealous friends on his wedding day. He’s sent to prison, where a fellow prisoner educates him and tells him of an enormous treasure on the island of Monte Cristo. Dantès escapes, claims the treasure, and reinvents himself as the Count of Monte Cristo. He returns to France years later to enact his terrible revenge on his betrayers. A precursor to characters from Ben-Hur to Batman, The Count of Monte Cristo has been adapted for the screen many times. A variety of leading men, from Robert Donat to Richard Chamberlain to Jim Caviezel have starred as Edmond Dantès over the years. 2024 alone saw two adaptations of the book: Sam Clafin starred in an eight-part miniseries, while Pierre Niney led a French film adaptation.

Page will produce The Count of Monte Cristo alongside Emily Brown via their Mighty Stranger banner alongside Mike Larocca and Michael Schaefer for Department M and Youtchi von Lintel for YouRoc. No director is yet attached to the project.

Regé-Jean Page‘s Count of Monte Cristo adaptation is in development; no release date has yet been announced.

via Collider