Warner Bros. Wants Steven Spielberg To Direct Epic 'Gods And Kings,' About The Life Of Moses

When a story opens with 'could Steven Spielberg direct X?' the answer is almost certainly going to be 'no.' Naturally a lot of projects land on or near the desk of one of the biggest directors in the world, and naturally he doesn't have time for 90% of even the ones he would be tempted to make.

But let's say that Warner Bros. had a large-scale epic about the life of Moses and wanted Spielberg to make it. What would the chances be?

Deadline says that the director has read the script for Gods and Kings, written by Michael Green and Stuart Hazeldine. And while there are any number of obvious roadblocks that include scheduling and the need for a co-financing deal with DreamWorks, Deadline says "there will be a discussion."

The film, as Deadline says, follows the full life story of Moses. All the big, expected points are in there: the struggle by the Hebrew slaves against Egypt; the flight out of Egypt; the Burning Bush and the trek across the Red Sea.

The film is based on Old Testament stories, and originated with a treatment by Matti Leshem, who is on as a producer. That's also one of the writers who kickstarted Paradise Lost, now at Legendary Pictures.

This could be a massive epic on a scale rarely seen, and Spielberg is an obvious choice in many respects; it could also do incredible business.

Is this also the same Moses film for which Darren Aronofsky was reportedly being courted some time ago? This title wasn't reported at the time, nor were the writers, and that movie was said to focus on the story of Exodus. But this could be the same project, or it may have grown out of that one. And if this does get made, what does that mean for the already slim chances that Aronofsky would get to make his own Biblical epic, Noah?