Renny Harlin trotted out the stars- and the exciting new trailer- of his upcoming swords and sandals epic, “Hercules: The Legend Begins” at NYCC this weekend.

The “Die Hard 2” director told those in attendance that this new take on the mythical character was going to reinvent the classic tale. Now, before I tell you HOW he plans to freshen up Hercules, I’d like you to do me a favor:

First, close your eyes. Second, take a moment to swipe out Harlin for Zack Snyder. Third, replace “Hercules” with “Man of Steel.”

Done? Okay. Now read this quote:

On his demi-god protagonist:

“I think people have a lot of stereotypical ideas of who the character is, so we wanted to go to an origin story of Hercules” [Superman. AHEM!] “to a young guy who doesn’t really even know who he is,” the director said. “And one day he finds out that he’s a demi-god. And that his mission is much grander and he has a destiny that he has to fulfill.”

If this approach to the legend sounds very similar to a modern, post-Nolan comic book film that’s actually by design. Harlin explained that he’s treating this film like a superhero movie. Playing to the Comic Con crowd, Harlin went so far as to refer to Hercules as the original superhero.

The titular star of the film, Kellan Lutz, was also on hand. He gently tackled the Dwayne Johnson-sized elephant in the room. When questioned about that other Hercules film, starring the former pro wrestler and directed by Brett “X-Men 3” Ratner, Lutz said that they wanted to do something a little different. They wanted to steer people away from the idea of Hercules as just a muscle man and tackle him as a real character. This philosophy trickled down to the actor’s build. Harlin recalled saying “get cut, but I don’t want you to look like a giant.”

The film will also contain a tragic love story that will find Lutz playing opposite newcomer Gaia Weiss. But that’s not all- Spartacus himself, Liam McIntyre, will co-star as a friend to Hercules who’s eventually “not really his friend,” according to Harlin.

Check out the trailer below. What do you think of this new take on the mythological hero? At this point in time, which Hercules project has you most interested?

Source: Millennium Films.