Last year, Chris Hemsworth appeared in a brief but memorable role as James T. Kirk‘s father in “Star Trek.” A role which he used as leverage to land an even more high-profile role, the lead in Kenneth Branagh‘s adaptation of the Marvel Comics superhero “Thor.”

Now Chris’s younger brother finds himself in a similar situation. At the end of this month we’ll see Liam Hemsworth star opposite Miley Cyrus in the romantic drama “The Last Song.” And now he’s leveraging that role to land his next one, an action-oriented 3-D take on “Arabian Nights.”

He had better not try and make Miley Cyrus his Princess Jasmine, I’ll just puke!

The Hollywood Reporter reveals that Hemsworth is in talks to star in the adaptation, which sounds like it wouldn’t be a straight re-telling.

In the original, Queen Scheherazade repeatedly saves herself from death at the hands of the Persian king by sharing tales with him on a nightly basis. The movie would follow Hemsworth’s military man who, following the murder of his king, joins with Sinbad to rescue Scheherazade.

The movie will be directed by Chuck Russell, who previously helmed “The Scorpion King,” “The Mask” and “A Nightmare on Elm Street 3.” He’ll be working off of a script that he co-wrote with relative newcomer Barry P. Ambrose. Inferno Entertainment will produce, and shooting is expected to start at the end of the summer.

I haven’t seen “The Last Song” — and frankly, I probably won’t — so I can’t really comment on Liam’s potential as an action-adventure leading man. His brother Chris did a fine job as George Kirk, well enough that I’m excited to see how he fares as Thor. Here’s hoping that talent runs in the family.

source: Liam Hemsworth to star in ‘Arabian Nights’ [MTV]