The Telegraph is reporting that Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen - the dueling mutants from  X-Men - are teaming up to star in a new version of William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice. Stewart and McKellen will speak unaltered Shakespearean dialogue, but the story will be set in Las Vegas, in and around the Venetian - with no attempt made to make the locale pass as anything other than a post-modern nightmare of simulation. Stewart is producing the film, and is currently in talks with the casino about the production. Openly gay Ian McKellen confirmed to the Telegraph that he's looking forward to the film, which will take advantage of Vegas' gay scene to imbue the relationship between Antonio and Bassanio with a new kind of tension. I'm a sucker for well-done contemporary Shakespeare adaptations, and though this idea is obviously sort of ludicrous, I think I kind of love it.