‘Exodus’ Confirms Christian Bale as Moses, Casting Joel Edgerton as Ramses

When it comes to biblical epics, you've got to go big or go home. Big is something that director Ridley Scott has always done well, so it's not surprising that he went and cast two of the best actors currently working in Hollywood for his upcoming Moses flick, 'Exodus.' The long-rumored Christian Bale is confirmed for the role of Moses himself, but the latest development sees the incredible Joel Edgerton in talks to play Ramses.

As anyone with a passing familiarity of religion/culture/Cecil B. DeMille epics can tell you, 'Exodus' will follow Moses as he leads the Jewish people from harsh slavery under the Egyptian monarchy to freedom in their promised land -- after several decades of wandering through the desert, of course.

The impossibly white Edgerton may seem like an odd choice to play the Egyptian King Ramses, but it's hard to argue with putting Edgerton (who rocked his roles in 'Warrior,' 'The Great Gatsby' and 'Zero Dark Thirty') in any movie. Bale's casting makes more immediate sense, and we're hoping he'll grow out a massive insane person's beard to play the part.

At this point, we're not sure what to make of 'Exodus.' Director Darren Arronofsky is hard at work on the other end of the Old Testament with 'Noah,' which is taking an iconic biblical tale and transforming it into an epic fantasy. Until we hear otherwise, we suspect that Scott's take on this material will be a little more straightforward, eschewing genre touches for a 'Gladiator' or 'Kingdom of Heaven'-esque, "epic realism" approach.

Production on 'Exodus' is expected to begin in September.

[via THR]