'MIB', 'Mars' pair unite on medieval drama

Heavyweight filmmakers Barry Sonnenfeld and Tony Jordan develop a medieval drama for British television.

The Kingdom will be directed by Sonnenfeld (Men in Black, Pushing Daisies) while Jordan (Life On Mars, EastEnders) is rewriting the scripts.

A pilot, written by creator Chad Hodge, was made in the US but dropped by CBS.

Producer Sony TV asked Jordan to rewrite the show and is planning to sell it to a UK broadcaster in June, then shoot a pilot in Europe this summer.

Sony may also look for a US network to get on board alongside a UK buyer.

Jamie Erlicht, co-president of programming and production, said of the move to Europe: "Castles are not cheap to build, say what you want. So we thought, 'Why don't we go to where castles exist?'"

Hodge's story is about a man who reluctantly becomes king.