While biblical epics were all the rage in the 50s, we don’t get many nowadays, probably because while The Passion Of The Christ was a hit, other like The Nativity have died a death at the box office. However that won’t stop Fox, who are planning a massive re-telling of the story of Moses.
Variety reports that Adam Cooper and Bill Collage are writing the script, having recently completed Moby Dick for Timur Bekmanbetov to direct. That film was pitched as a 300-like reimagining of the Melville story, turning it into a visually stunning action piece, and the story of Moses is conceived similarly.
It’s a bit difficult to imagine a movie about Moses being like 300, but as the Variety report also talks about ptiching it in a similar vein to Braveheart, they’re certainly making it sound like this could be a rather more violent version of the story than we’re used to.
Despite the Braveheart and 300 comparisons, the new film will cover the bits of the Moses story we’re used to, from being left in the bullrushes to his defiance of the pharaoh, the parting of the Red Sea and deliverance of the enslaved Hebrews. It certainly gives plenty of scope for spectacle, although it’s tough to imagine any new film version supplanting Charlton Heston’s The Ten Commandments in people’s hearts (although we also have a soft spot for Dreamworks Animation’s underrated The Prince Of Egypt).