So far we’ve seen a few set pics from Ridley Scott‘s new biblical epic EXODUS showing a Robin Hood-esque Christian Bale who is playing Moses in the cinematic retelling and Joel Edgerton in Egyptian Pharoah attire as Ramses, but nothing official has surfaced until now. Following on the heels of Darren Aronofsky‘s own biblical epic, NOAH, Scott’s film tackles the tale of Moses and Ramses’ rivalry, which led to the parting of the red sea and the Ten Commandments. It’s one of the more popular stories in a number of religioous texts, including the Hebrew Bible, The Qur’an, and Baha’i scripture, making it a story that crosses over to many different audiences. Bale’s Moses looks to be in the age range of when the initial slave revolution began, which sent him on the ultimate journey to free his people and lead them to the desert.
Let my people go!:
I’m always excited to have Ridley Scott working on an epic production as very few filmmakers can handle them as well as him. GLADIATOR and KINGDOM OF HEAVEN are magnificent examples of what the filmmaker is capable of in this genre and even his less-beloved ROBIN HOOD had its charms. With a cast that includes Bale, Edgerton, Aaron Paul, Sigourney Weaver, Ben Kingsley, and John Turturro, EXODUS certainly has a lot going for it. I’m sure that Aronofsky’s NOAH will play some role in determining the hype for EXODUS, depending on how audiences warm up to the biblical films, but the final test will be simply whether or not they’re good films, regardless of their genre.
EXODUS opens on December 12, 2014.