New King Lear film coming

If we’re really lucky, Anthony Hopkins will soon whiplash from being the worst Hrothgar ever (though it wasn’t entirely his fault, of course) to maybe being one of the better Lears. The director, one Joshua Michael Stern, has declared his dissatisfaction with modern interpretations of King Lear and that he is quite a fan of the original text as it stands. He intends to set the film in pre-Roman Britain, which could be fun. Or it could be as bad as King Arthur except without Romans. Gwyneth Paltrow, Naomi Watts and Keira Knightley are slated to play Lear’s three daughters; no word yet on Edmund or Edgar or Gloucester or anyone else.

But then:

Stern’s previous directorial efforts have been limited to a couple of comedy shorts: Queer Eye for the Homeless Guy and Jewz N The Hood, both shot in 2005.

He can rise above that, right? Right?

UPDATE: Jeff, in the comments, rightly points out that Stern has previously directed the 2005 psychological fairy tale Neverwas, starring Aaron Eckhart and Ian McKellen, and which was, says he, quite good. He is also directing the upcoming Swing Vote, in which Kevin Costner stars as a man, who, through a series of curious events, finds that his single vote will decide the election of the American president. Swing Vote opens in August.