It has been termed a "re-adaptation", "reimagining", and "new interpretation" of the novel, and follows Judah Ben-Hur, a young prince who is falsely accused by his step-brother, an officer of the Roman army, and is sent to slavery, only to escape and seek vengeance.

[5][6] The film stars Jack Huston as the titular character, alongside Toby Kebbell, Rodrigo Santoro, Nazanin Boniadi, Ayelet Zurer, and Morgan Freeman.

Jesus' preaching ministry draws the attention of governor Pilate and Messala, who is now the commander of the Roman garrison and a champion chariot racer.

Just before the race, Ben-Hur encounters a former Roman soldier named Druses, who informs him that his mother Naomi and sister Tirzah are still alive.

Esther and Judah witness Jesus' death on the cross, Naomi and Tirzah are miraculously healed and Ilderim pays a ransom to set them free.

In 2013, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer acquired Keith R. Clarke's script, an adaptation of Lew Wallace's 1880 novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ, which is in the public domain.

[36] MGM had just emerged from bankruptcy due to the global success of the twenty-third James Bond film, Skyfall, and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, which both went to gross over $1 billion at the box office worldwide, including above $300 million in the United States and Canada, while Paramount were doing well at the time with the biblical tale Noah.

[11] It was announced that the new film would differ from the 1959 version, and deal with the formative relationships of Ben-Hur and Messala growing up as best friends, before the Roman Empire took control of Jerusalem, and that Christ would have a prominent role.

[42] Producer Mark Burnett stated that films like Ben-Hur, which are centered on faith and the messages of Jesus Christ, need to feel like epic summer blockbusters in order to attract younger and secular audiences.

[43] In June 2015, Rob Moore, the vice chairman of Paramount, explained that this version is not so much a remake of the 1959 film, but a new interpretation of the Lew Wallace novel on which both are based.

[6] It's going to be different in the sense that the original writer Keith Clarke wrote an amazing script and then went back to the Lew Wallace novel and really excavated the relationship between the two main characters, Ben-Hur and Messala.

[45] Ridley admired how Clarke went back to the source material and focused his attention on the subjects of racial slavery and colonization, and the deep relationships between the two friends.

[49] On September 11, Morgan Freeman was added to the cast to play Sheik Ilderim, the man who teaches Ben-Hur to become a champion chariot racer.

[53] On October 30, TheWrap confirmed that Gadot's negotiations with Paramount and MGM had ended, and the actress had withdrawn, reportedly due to scheduling conflicts with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

[23] On January 20, Moisés Arias was added to the cast to play Gestas, a teenage Jewish zealot who is desperate to fight for freedom, after his family has been murdered by the Romans.

[63] In March 2016, Adam Sidman, an associate of Timur Bekmambetov, sent a request to the Bureau of Land Management's South Coast in Palm Springs, which oversees federal land in the Coachella Valley area, asking if the team can shoot a horse scene in the Painted Canyon, which is off Box Canyon Road, with two horses, several cameras, and a film crew of about 30.

With the help of local lawmakers, they were able to convinced the BLM to approve the request, but this time with a much-scaled down production of 8 crew members, no horses, and the use of a drone rather than handheld cameras.

[65] Though no official reasons had been given, archaeological experts speculated that the influx of heavy filming vehicles and hundreds of extras to the arena could have caused untold damage to the site.

[citation needed] To capture the thunderous feel of the race, the film crew attached microphones to the horses to record the sound of pounding hooves, and GoPro cameras were buried in the sand.

[66] Huston and Kebbell spent two and a half months preparing and rehearsing to learn how to drive chariot races in Italy,[10] six days a week.

[86][87] Ben-Hur is the third summer 2016 tentpole from Paramount Pictures, following Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (3 June) and Star Trek Beyond (22 July).

The film's release drew controversy, when some viewers complained that scenes depicting Jesus Christ had been cut out from the Malaysian theatrical version.

The film's Malaysian distributor, United International Pictures Malaysia, has since confirmed that the cuts were made to fulfil local legal requirements and guidelines.

[88] The trailer garnered a polarized reception from critics and audiences,[95][96][97] with comparisons being made to 300: Rise of an Empire,[98] Gladiator,[99][100][101] and Spartacus: Blood and Sand.

[117] The film went on to gross a low $11.2 million in its opening weekend, even with 3D and IMAX bumps, finishing sixth at the box office and third among new releases, behind Kubo and the Two Strings and War Dogs.

Club's Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, giving one of the few positive-leaning reviews, wrote: "At first, the new adaptation of Lew Wallace’s New Testament soap opera seems impersonal, as dusty and ornamented as any movie in which robed Jews and Romans argue about gods and kings in accents of vaguely British origin", but as it progresses, "Ben-Hur announces itself as the sort of elemental re-imagining of the source material that no one in their right mind would ever expect it to be.

"[145] IGN's Scott Collura gave the film 5.8/10, writing: "Ben-Hur is an adequate introduction to the classic tale of revenge and forgiveness, but it's an uneven one.

Toby Kebbell's antagonist character frequently outweighs the appeal of Jack Huston’s hero, the more religious elements of the story don’t jell very well with the action set pieces, and much of the cast are left behind by their own movie.

"[146] The New York Times' Stephen Holden wrote, "Overseen by a director not known for his human touch and lacking a name star, except for Mr. Freeman, Ben-Hur feels like a film made on the cheap, although it looks costly.

"[151] Sister Rose Pacatte wrote a positive review for the National Catholic Reporter, objecting only to the anachronistic costumes worn by Jewish women in the film.