Grendel retells the story of Beowulf from the perspective of the monster

The story of Beowulf is one of the oldest and most prominent myths of the Anglo-Saxon era. The hero's quest is a rather defining tale, and yet in 1971 American author John Gardener wanted to retell the story of Beowulf from a different perspective, that of Grendel.

Grendel is one of the three monsters Beowulf must confront on his journey. He is a beast-like creature who has been rampaging through the Danish king Hrothgar's lands. Now, he's getting his own movie, based on the aforementioned novel, from director Robert D. Krzykowski.

Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Krzykowski outlined why he wanted to make the movie. "I feel like it's [the] roots in mythology — you know, comic books are kind of our modern myths — and then you've got Beowulf that's kind of like the original comic-book hero, and Grendel is the ultimate and original villain of English literature — so we're going way back to the roots," he said.

The movie will start shooting next year, with Jeff Bridges playing Grendel, Dave Bautista playing Beowulf, and Bryan Cranston as King Hrothgar. The movie is going to start shooting next year, with The Jim Henson Company having made the live-action version of Grendel.