Re-imaging Beowulf

If you were to prepare a new version of Beowulf -- for either text or cinema -- what would you change about it?  If your purpose was to stay faithful to the original theme and intent of the original, how could you tweak a character, scene, or major episode in order to BETTER deliver the message?  The makers of the recent animated movie version of Beowulf did just this, changing the story after line 1888 to deliver the same message with a more deliberate stroke.  What would your contribution be to this story?

Monsters in our Midst

Why do monsters exist in these stories?  Are they (...were they) realistic?  What types of monsters exist in our modern-day literature/stories?  Why do we continue to need monsters in our cultural tales?  What is the perfect monster?
In a similar vein, how would you describe the heroes in these Anglo-Saxon texts?  Are they different from the heroes you've read about before?  How has our definition of "hero" changed in the modern day?  Do we still need heroes?  What purpose did they serve and do they now serve in our democratic world?  Where have all the archetypal heroes gone?

Now British, once Picts, Celts, Angles, Jutes, and Frisians . . . .

What has your preliminary research revealed about ancient Anglo-Saxon England? What surprised you? How might these cultural, political, scientific factoids manifest themselves in the literature of the period? (E.g., What would you expect to see as a result of this Anglo-Saxon mindset?)

Initial Impressions

What are your general impressions of Beowulf -- either the Old English reading or Heaney's translation?
What are your thoughts as you pick up one of the oldest surviving stories in the English language?
What associations, ideas, feelings, and initial patterns and stylistics does the text offer?
What predictions or questions do you have?