Director Edward Zwick (The Last Samurai) is gearing up to start production on his period epic The Great Wall, and producers are now mulling over two actors to take on the co-lead role opposite Man of Steel star (aka the new Superman) Henry Cavill. Deadline reports that the decision is now between True Blood’s Alexander Skarsgard and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter star Benjamin Walker.  Previously all we’d known about the film was that it “looks at the mystery behind how China’s Great Wall was constructed.”  Now a new logline shines a bit more light on the project, as the film centers on British warriors traveling through 15th Century China who realize “there is something inhuman and more dangerous” that the builders of the titular wall are trying to keep out.  Hit the jump for more.

The elongated logline, courtesy of Deadline, makes sense when you realize that The Great Wall is based on an idea Max Brooks, who wrote the zombie-centric novel World War Z.  This marks the first film featuring an “inhuman” aspect for the drama-centric Zwick, and I’m interested to see if The Great Wall is being prepped as a summer tentpole or if Zwick will simply play the supernatural (or otherwise) elements of the story straight with an emphasis on character and drama.

Both Skarsgard and Walker are relatively untested with big screen audiences.  Skarsgard has a supporting role with limited screentime in this summer’s Battleship, but he’s a standout on HBO’s True Blood.  We haven’t seen much from Walker, but he has a high profile role as a vampire-killin’ iteration of our nation’s 16th President in this summer’s actioner.