Ridley Scott’s return to the sword and sandals epic has been a long time coming. Following the director’s seminal and indeed award-winning rendition of ancient Rome with Gladiator in 2000, Scott is planning to transition the biblical story of Moses onto the silver screen with Exodus: Gods and Kings — a feat that hasn’t been achieved for over fifty years.
And, with less than three months until its release, Yahoo Movies has published a behind-the-scenes featurette of the film, which features Scott and Arthur Max — who serves as production designer on the project — discussing the trials and tribulations of filming this most epic tale.
Undoubtedly, the focal point of Exodus: Gods and Kings is Moses’ (Christian Bale) relationship with his brother — the Pharoah Ramses, who will be embodied by Joel Edgerton. After defying Ramses and freeing over 60,000 slaves, Moses leads the former prisoners on a harrowing journey through Egypt which, as expected, involves an encounter with one body of water known as the Red Sea.
In keeping with Scott’s track record, we can expect several rather gigantic battle sequences in the film, which is already being hailed as the largest movie of the reputable director’s career. In fact, if 20th Century Fox are to be believed, it’s a scale that hasn’t been committed to celluloid since the true epics of Quo Vadis and the indelible Ben-Hur.
Either way, Exodus: Gods and Kings will feature an impressive ensemble cast that encompasses the aforementioned Edgerton and Bale, along with Aaron Paul, Sigourney Weaver, Ben Kingsley and John Tutturo when it releases on December 12th in the States.