Following a wave of interest in movies based on bible characters in Hollywood, Warner Bros. has picked up Pontius Pilate, a screenplay by Vera Blasi (Woman On Top, Tortilla Soup), which puts a fresh spin on this rather difficult Biblical figure.
The script follows the entire life of Lucius Pontius Pilate, the son of a Roman knight and a cunning warrior in his own right. He is assigned to become the prefect of Judea, where his arrogance clouds his judgement and causes the public to despise him. This leads to his decision on the fate of Jesus Christ, a man claiming to be the King of the Jews.
Other Biblical figures such as John the Baptist, Salome, and Mary Magdalene are also featured in this drama, which slightly oddly has been described as, “a Biblical era Twilight Zone episode,” although quite what’s meant by that isn’t clear.
Here’s what the screenwriter had to say about this story that mixes historical fact with creative elements:”You have the available facts from Roman and Jewish history books and the four gospels, and then you are left to speculate, to interpret the character of Pilate and give him a dilemma. He seemed a great way to offer context to this very famous event, and if you look at it from the perspective of the Roman governor of that time, it allows for an investigation of the politics of Judea at the time, and what it was like to be occupied by Rome.” (Source: Deadline)