Caviezel, McKellen to take on 'Prisoner'

NEW YORK, June 30 (UPI) -- Jim Caviezel and Ian McKellen have signed on to star in a miniseries remake of the 1960s TV show "The Prisoner," American Movie Classics announced Monday.

Caviezel has previously starred in "The Passion of the Christ" and "The Thin Red Line," while McKellen is best known for his roles in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy and "The Da Vinci Code."

AMC said it is co-producing the six-part miniseries with ITV Productions and Granada International, with a worldwide premiere slated for 2009.

AMC said its second original miniseries "combines a wide range of genres, including espionage, thriller and sci-fi, into a unique and compelling drama, and expands upon the network's distinctive cinematic approach to creating high-quality programming."

"Jim Caviezel and Ian McKellen bring an incredible level of talent to the project, and we're honored they are taking on these important roles. We look forward to this production revitalizing a classic and bringing Patrick McGoohan's brilliant and captivating story to an entirely new generation of viewers," AMC's Charlie Collier said in a statement. "The caliber of Hollywood talent AMC is attracting further validates our programming vision and our successful strategy of producing quality cinematic originals that stand alongside our library of iconic movies."