Darren Aronofsky wants Russell Crowe and Liam Neeson for his biblical epic Noah

When you think “biblical epic”, you tend to envision dudes with beards. So of course, sometimes-bearded filmmaker Darren Aronofsky wants two of cinema’s finest bearded thespians for his upcoming NOAH: Russell Crowe and Liam Neeson.

According to Deadline, Aronofsky wants Crowe to take on the film’s title role, while Neeson will play another, unspecified part (which some are presuming to be that of the film’s “villain”). No deals are officially in place yet for either actor.

NOAH is said to be getting ready for a July production start. The film comes written by GLADIATOR scribe John Logan, who rewrote the original script by Aronofsky and Ari Handel. Film will be released next summer. Now let’s grow some epic beards.