It took more than a year, but it's finally going to happen: Deadline reported today that Darren Aronofsky has finally secured the funding to make his epic retelling of the biblical story “Noah”. And sailing the ship for Aronofsky’s film will be one of the biggest name in Hollywood today, Russell Crowe.
The Regency/Paramount co-production is set to begin filming in July, but an official announcement is expected to happen sometime next week.
Read more about the epic project after the break.
It was a rocky road for Aronofsky to get this movie to happen, but the hard work and dedication finally paid off. This is a dream project for Aronofsky, who even dropped out of directing “Wolverine” so he could work on “Noah”.
Since I was a kid, I have been moved and inspired by the story of Noah and his family’s journey. The imaginations of countless generations have sparked to this epic story of faith. It’s my hope that I can present a window into Noah’s passion and perseverance for the silver screen.There is no doubt that Aronofsky is going to put everything he’s got into this film. With a story this grand in scale, and a leading man of Crowe’s caliber, we could be in for something pretty special.
And speaking of leading men, that was another hurdle Aronofsky had to clear. Christian Bale was originally attached to star in the leading role, but after countless delays and his commitments to Terrance Mallick’s films “Lawless” and “Knight of Cups”, shot back to back, it caused too much of a scheduling conflict and he had to drop. Personally, I can picture Crowe as Noah much more than Bale, although I would’ve loved to hear Noah bust out the “Batman Voice” when he got angry.
Other than Crowe, we haven’t gotten any official casting news. I expect this will be a fairly attractive project, that should bring in some big names. One person who's been rumored for a while now is Liam Neeson, who reports suggest would play an antagonist in the film. Quick thought though: besides God, with the wiping out of the human race and all, what other antagonists are there in that story really? I'm curious where he would land.
What are everyone’s thoughts on this project?