Brett Ratner’s ‘Hercules’ Gets A New Release Date

Director Brett Ratner’s Hercules has been given a new release date.

Based on the graphic novel Hercules: The Thracian Wars, the upcoming fantasy starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is now slated to hit theaters in July of 2014. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film was originally scheduled for release on August 8, 2014.

Brett Ratner’s take on the Hercules legend currently has that weekend all to itself. However, the film could still face some competition from the month’s earlier releases: Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: There and Back Again and Bryan Singer’s X-Men: Days of Future Past.

Director James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy will open in theaters the weekend after Hercules makes it debut.

Cinema Blend reports that Ratner’s Hercules will not focus on the supernatural elements generally associated with the character and his story. Instead, the film will take a more realistic approach to the material.

Hercules: The Thracian Wars tells the story of Hercules after he loses his family and turns his back on the Gods. Since he has nothing left to live for, he spends much of his time engaging in bloody combat. However, our hero eventually finds a cause worthy of his attention and strength.

The official synopsis explains:

“Over the years he warmed to the company of six similar souls, their only bond being their love of fighting and the presence of death. These men and woman never question where, why, or whom they go to fight; only how much they will be paid. Knowing this, the King of Thrace has hired these mercenaries to train his men to become the greatest army of all time. Hercules begins to question King Cotys’ motives when he takes his army out to battle and sees them practice on innocent men, women, and children of their neighbors.”

Brett Ratner and Dwayne Johnson’s take on Hercules is currently set to arrive in theaters on on July 25, 2014.