After months of speculation, Russell Crowe has officially been cast as the titular character in Darren Aronofsky’s dark retelling of Noah’s Ark, NOAH. Per the official press release that broke the news, the BLACK SWAN director says:

“I’d like to thank Paramount and Regency for backing my team’s work to breathe new life into the biblical epic. I rejoice that Russell Crowe will be by my side on this adventure. It’s his immense talent that helps me to sleep at night. I look forward to being wowed by him every day.”

Well, if anybody can handle the prickly star it’s Aronofsky, whose no nonsense attitude won over the equally notorious Mickey Rourke in THE WRESTLER.

Paramount Pictures and New Regency Productions will produce the filmmaker’s take on the tale, which Aronofsky has been developing for some time, penning the screenplay with regular collaborator Ari Handel (THE FOUNTAIN) & the award winning John Logan (whose work we’ll next see in SKYFALL).

The closest hint of the tone Aronofsky will take can be found in the following video, a promo for the 2011 graphic novel version that the filmmaker also co-wrote. If, like us, you were worried this might be a bit of a dry affair, this should go some way to assure you we might be in for something quite special here…

And anybody concerned that this might be a little on the preachy side, Aronofsky has previously stated: “I don’t think it’s a very religious story. I think it’s a great fable that’s part of so many different religions and spiritual practices. I just think it’s a great story that’s never been on film.” 

Expect this to kick of a flood of Biblical adaptations should this hit big (and with Paramount pumping a reported $150,000,000 into this thing, they’re certainly aiming for it to do so), the first of which will be Spielberg’s MOSES.

The question on everybody’s mind though – will NOAH be better than EVAN ALMIGHTY?

NOAH will begin shooting in Iceland this July for a March 28th 2014(!) release. The graphic novel, NOE, is out now.

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