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Written by Dolph Lundgren and
Damian Lee. Produced by Damian Lee through New Cinema Partners
(formerly Stone Canyon Pictures) and to be distributed by Lions Gate Entertainment.
Budget: $4.5 to $6.5 million. It was to be released and marketed
on Charityville and
Movie Partners. The
film was supposed to be adapted in a video game. A rumour also
spread that the actor Armand Assante would co-star. Since the
fall of New Cinema Partners, the project was then in pre-production
(2001) at Moonstone Entertainment (Hidden Agenda),
but Dolph felt that the project did not have enough depth.
"... the production company
is called Charityville.com International Inc. These were the
people who were footing my hefty bar bill. Charityville.com intends
to release Dolph’s film, Legion
(a film which
has yet to be produced) on their website (which is currently
under development)."
Rob
Thomas, Varsity Aarts & Culture, Tuesday, April 14, 2000
"Currently he is producing
and directing Legion for Lions Gate, a $6.5 million thriller
set in Costa Rica and starring Dolph Lundgren and Armand Assante[...]"
from a PRNewswire press
release, June 12, 2000
"An action adventure
starring Dolph Lundgren. Based on a story by Damian Lee and Dolph
Lundgren. A completed film script with artist attached currently
in the development finace stage which the Company owns 100% of
the rights as acquired from Stone Canyon Pictures." from the New cinema Parners website
"LEGION, budgeted
at $5,300,000 US, is an action adventure picture starring Dolph
Lundgren and based on a story by Damian Lee and Dolph Lundgren.
It is anticipated that the film will be distributed by Lions
Gate Entertainment, and preliminary documents with LGE have been
drafted. In addition, there is also a video game and an e-comic
developed with an industry front running joint partner." from Entertainment
News Daily (July 24, 2000)
"Lee, one of Canada's
most successful independent film producers, is also the president
of Stone Canyon Pictures, the company which will produce Legion.
It will be distributed through the Lions Gate Entertainment Group.
Stone Canyon Pictures announced at a press conference on March
30 in Toronto that exclusive internet
rights to promote the movie had been sold to the Charityville
group (soon to be renamed into Emblast). This firm will promote
Legion on the net, featuring live footage, behind-the-scenes
reports etc. on a website. On July 25, director Lee announced in
an interview that the movie will be made into a game as well.
At this stage, Lee would not yet name a creator for the game
nor say what consumer groups are being targeted." from an Armand Assante fansite
"Legion, an action film starring Dolph Lundgren
that will be based on a script from Lundgren and screenwriter
Damian Lee, will also see life as a game. Discussing the project
during a telephone interview with the Adrenaline
Vault, Lee was unable to disclose who will be creating the
game or which platforms will be targeted, but did announce a
number of plot details that will be the basis for both the film
and the game.
Distributed through Lion's Gate Entertainment, the film will
set the stage for the game's action: Legion
is a character raised at the hand of the KGB during "the
most feared time in its existence." In time, he grows to
disdain the organization's methods, has a moral falling out and
issues an ultimatum to his superiors. The powers that be, which
are less than understanding about his predicament, murder his
wife and children in response, something Lee claims will impart
the character with considerable spiritual and emotional baggage.
"As Legion brings down the game's material barriers,
he will also experience mental and emotional growth. His pilgrimage
will be a more complete manifestation of what a game world can
represent. Part of the reason games are so popular is because
there is an absence of coming of age rituals in modern culture.
Legion will explore the connection between material challenges
and personal growth," Lee explained.
Perhaps, but this will still entail a lot of gunslinging, as
the film and game will chronicle Legion's conversion from a guns-for-hire
assassin to a guns-for-righteousness vigilante. In both, Legion
escapes from the KGB before exacting his revenge and even does
a stint with the CIA. Further disillusioned, he becomes a rogue
agent that offers his services to the highest bidder. Hired through
a political third world political incumbent to assassinate the
female leader of a rebel uprising, the film and game will see
him won over to the rebel cause and fight against those who purchased
him.
Additional game details will emerge as negotiations for production
and publishing deals are finalized." from an Adrenalin
Vault article (July 2000)
"New Cinema Partners
Inc. is pleased to announce that Damian Lee, Chairman, has reported
to the Board of Directors that he has completed final negociations
for the production and distribution of "Legion",
a 6.5 million action/adventure film starring Dolph Lundgren.
"Legion" is a co-operative creative effort
between Mr. Lee and Mr. Lundgren, who co-authored the script.
Mr. Lee will be directing the picture.
Lions Gate Entertainment is
to be the distributor of the film and will guarantee a minimum
of $1.5 million in North American presales. Overseas presales,
currently under final negociations, are estimated to generate
a minimum of $5 million. Mr. Lundgren's adventure films have
proven to be especially lucrative in the overseas markets." from a New Cinema Partners press release,
October 18, 2000
In the American Agent Red
DVD's (released in April 2001 by Columbia
TriStar Home Video) commentary, Damian Lee discusses
Legion:
"I'm looking forward to working with Dolph again, we
have another picture that we're doing, by the name of the Legion,
which I'm sure wanna go numerous name changes. But in that picture,
he's playing an assassin, that is hired to terminate a religious
figure in the Amazon base and has become some of a female Che
Gevara figure, and he's traveling [...?] back in the jungle to
assassin her, which is obviously an homage to Joseph Conrad's
novel "Heart of Darkness". And along the way, I meant
that he is with little sense of purpose, sees for a great sense
of purpose and beginning to fall in love with her by virtue of
her sense of purpose."
We can say that sense of purpose
is indeed what lacked the most to Lundgren's character in Agent
Red, but let's hear Lee again:
"I think this picture
we're going to do with Dolph will be a big departure for Dolph
and hopefully bring out, some of the qualities that I've mentioned
(at) Dolph during this production, that is his intelligence,
his ability to reflect a deeper more lyric side on film, than
perhaps he has to date. He is a very literate guy and, that certainly
has to say he could understanding a plot and story; and of course
understands his market and what he should and should not be doing
as well, I mean if you're Dolph Lundgren you are more or less
Aryan poster boy, and you're not going to be in post office the
guy next door, I mean he's 6'5, and striking good looks and a
good physique. That's the good news, bad news..."
From Moonstone Entertainment,
October 2001: "Enclosed please find the script Detention
that Dolph Lundgren chose to film instead of the Legion
project. Dolph felt that the Legion project did
not have enough depth."
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