Filming took place in Australia under the American studio Summit Entertainment. While the film's production budget was $140 million, the parent company Lionsgate's financial exposure was less than $10 million due to tax incentives and pre-sales.
The Australian government provided a tax credit for 46% of the film's budget. When Lionsgate began promoting the film in November 2015, it received backlash for its predominantly white cast playing Egyptian characters. In response, Lionsgate and director Alex Proyas apologized for the lack of casting diversity. Lionsgate released Gods of Egypt in theaters globally starting on February 25, 2016 in 2D, RealD 3D, and IMAX 3D. It released the film in the United States, Canada, and 68 other markets on February 26, 2016 and will release it in the United Kingdom on April 8, 2016.
Publication Information
- Title : Gods of Egypt
- Type : Film / Movie
- Directed by : Alex Proyas
- Produced by : Basil Iwanyk, Alex Proyas
- Written by : Matt Sazama, Burk Sharpless
- Starring : Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Brenton Thwaites, Chadwick Boseman, Elodie Yung, Courtney Eaton, Rufus Sewell, Gerard Butler, Geoffrey Rush
- Music by : Marco Beltrami
- Cinematography : Peter Menzies Jr
- Edited by : Richard Learoyd
- Production companies : Summit Entertainment, Thunder Road Pictures, Mystery Clock Cinema
- Distributed by : Summit Entertainment, Lionsgate
- Release dates : February 25, 2016 (Australia), February 26, 2016 (United States)
- Running time : 127 minutes
- Country : United States, Australia
- Language : English
Plot
The film takes place in an alternate world Egypt, where the world is flat and the gods live among mortal humans. The Egyptian pantheon is distinguished from humans by their greater height, golden blood, and ability to transform into animal-like form.
After a reign of peace, king Osiris turns over the throne to his son Horus, with the peasant couple Bek and Zaya among the crowd. However, during the coronation Osiris is killed by his jealous brother Set, who seizes the throne and declares a new regime where the dead will have to pay with riches to pass into the afterlife. Horus duels Set in deity form but is overpowered, and during the chaos Bek is seperated from Zaya. Set would have killed Horus, but Horus' lover Hathor begs for his life, so Set settles for tearing out Horus' eyes, which are the source of his power, and banishing him to the desert.
Horus is restored as king and his other eye found and returned, but Bek has been killed. Having saved Ra, though, his grandfather repays Horus by bringing Bek and Zaya back to life. The other gods have their attributes restored, and Horus is crowned king and declares the afterlife will be open to the good doers of the world. Bek is made chief advisor, and he gives Horus back the bracelet, letting Horus rescue Hathor from the underworld.
Cast
- Nikolaj Coster-Waldau : Horus
- Brenton Thwaites : Bek
- Chadwick Boseman : Thoth
- Elodie Yung : Hathor
- Courtney Eaton : Zaya
- Rufus Sewell : Urshu
- Gerard Butler : Set
- Geoffrey Rush : Ra[6]
- Bryan Brown : Osiris
- Rachael Blake : Isis
- Emma Booth : Nephthys
- Alexander England : Mnevis
- Goran D. Kleut : Anubis
- Yaya Deng : Astarte
- Abbey Lee : Anat
- Kenneth Ransom : Sphinx
