Adventurer and presenter Bear Grylls is developing a present day movie version of The Count Of Monte Cristo, written by Tom Williams (Kajaki).

Grylls’ Banijay JV The Natural Studios is teaming up with producers Ben Grass (Twist) and Christophe Charlier (Race) for the film which will focus on the friendship and bitter rivalry that develops between two special forces soldiers who are sent to war in Afghanistan.

The film is the first foray into scripted feature films for The Natural Studios, producers of Into The Wild With Bear Grylls.

Grylls and Delbert Shoopman said: “We loved the idea of updating this universally-loved story of friendships, betrayal and revenge, and were completely taken by Tom Williams’ original and innovative take. This is action adventure storytelling at its finest and celebrates above all, resilience and redemption.”

Ben Grass and Christophe Charlier added “It’s an honour to collaborate with Bear, Del and Tom, on this fresh reworking of the Alexandre Dumas classic. We aim to create a captivating action film with great scale and sweep that is certain to thrill global audiences.”

The producers say they will shortly enter talent discussions with a view to film in 2021.