The Count of Monte Cristo reboot: Featuring SF Soldiers in Afghanistan?

Okay, if that headline has you scratching your head, know that you're not alone. When we first heard about this reboot, that's exactly what we did too … until we unpacked it a little and decided that maybe, there might be something to this.

According to reports, Bear Grylls' production company, The Natural Studios, is in talks with producers Ben Grass and Christophe Charlier to remake the classic novel.

Yeah, we're talking about that Bear Grylls – former British soldier turned survivalist and television personality.

And yep, we're talking about that classic novel written by Alexander Dumas and published in installments from 1844-1846.

If you're not seeing the connection between SF soldiers, Afghanistan and the Count, don't worry, you're not alone. But if you put all the pieces together, it actually makes sense.

You might recall that Dumas' book is all about revenge, but in case you skipped that week in high school English class, here's a quick refresher. The book coincides with some important historical moments – the Hundred Days period when Napoleon returned to power after exile being one of them. Thematically, the Count of Monte Cristo is all about hope, justice, vengeance, forgiveness and mercy. It centers on a man who's been wrongfully imprisoned, manages to escape from jail and amass a fortune, all with the plan of getting revenge on those who did him dirty.

Now we're not quite sure what Grylls is planning to do to make this work for two SF soldiers, but we can definitely see how the premise lends itself well to a remake. What we do know is that the script focuses on the blossoming friendship and eventual rivalry between two SF soldiers who deployed together in Afghanistan.

One of the many challenges Grylls and his team will have to address is the sheer length of the book and how to best adapt that to the screen. Tom Williams will be writing the script, and while he's no stranger to other military-themed productions, this is a huge undertaking, and not just because of the size of the novel.

The complexity (and some argue, the genius) of The Count of Monte Cristo is due in part to the slow burn of the novel. It develops and builds, and the pacing is slow, to the novel's advantage -- it helps us understand the main character and his motivations, and makes his revenge that much sweeter. But adapting that to film and too short attention spans might be challenging. One solution could be to cut some of the original version's tangential plotlines, but Williams might find that leads to serious plot holes.

And in a three-act film, how much friendship can we genuinely develop between these two SF soldiers? That's a serious point of contention and something that Williams and his team are going to have to explore closely. Speaking of characters, the original version features many characters – in part because Edmond Dantes has so many aliases and so many alternate lives. It will be interesting to see how this is approached in the film since it's less than likely that SF soldiers have alternate identities. Equally interesting will see how the remake explores Dantes' allies, the Danglars family, and the Villefort family – or if the team will simply omit these large family structures.

But, we're sure Williams is up to the challenge, considering his script skills on display in Kilo Two Bravo. After all, that unflinching portrayal of a British unit's deployment is what some argue to be one of the most authentic representations of deployment in the current film era.

Of course, Grylls isn't the first to remake Dumas' classic literary masterpiece. reinterpretations of the book have found their way to the screen for over 100 years. But, it's been a few decades since we've seen a remake. The most recent film reboot is from 2002, directed by Kevin Reynolds, starring Jim Caviezel and Guy Pearce.

Either way, we're looking forward to actor selection for this film and seeing it enter the production phase.