Corkman Mark McMahon hopes the  upcoming movie “Boru” about Irish hero Brian Boru to be filmed in Ireland will be as big as ‘Lord of the Rings.’ McMahon hopes the film will secure a funding budget within the next couple of weeks.

The Cork Independent quoted him saying about the film, “It’s probably the mad visions that I have, but I actually think that this could be as big as ‘Lord of the Rings.’” He comically added, “As my mum used to say, aim for the stars and land on the flat of your arse.”

No actors have yet be named to the project, although it is very likely that some Irish stars will be involved. The Cork Independent reported McMahon said, “Colin Farrell may or may not be making an appearance. Based on the budget,  we are going to be using some of the biggest stars in the world, Hollywood A listers.”The film will written, produced, and directed by McMahon.

The film follows the story of Irish hero Brian Boru, king of Munster who died in 1014 at the Battle of Clontarf, in which he defeated the Vikings. The film will be shot in Ireland scenes will feature some high profile locations,including the Cliffs of Moher. Filming may begin next year.

He hopes the film will secure its 80 million euro budget within the next couple of weeks. McMahan said the high budget was due to the historical epic nature of the film. He said, “Budgets go through the roof because of sets and costumes. When I was growing up, I always had a great interest in history. It’s so deep and so vast.”

He added, “I grew up in movies and I always loved going to the cinema and this form of escapism and no matter what was happening in your own world you could be quite literally transported into another world. We have such history here, that we should bring this to the world.”

Brian Boru was born in modern day Co Clare around 940 AD and his brother was the king of Munster. At this time, the Vikings had already settled in Dublin and were settling in various parts of Ireland. After Brian’s brother was killed by treachery, he became the king of Munster. Through diplomacy and battles, Brian united a significant portion of Ireland. At the Battle of Clontarf, near modern day northern Dublin, Brian was killed while his army defeated the Vikings. The battle has generally been understood as the Irish expulsion of the Viking invader, but at that time Viking power was already in decline as they became increasingly absorbed by the Irish.