As Mel Gibson will tell you, moviegoers seem to love it when you mix the Bible with some good old fashioned violence, and if Warner Brothers has their way, Steven Spielberg could soon be directing a gritty biblical epic of his own. They’ve been trying to set up a movie with the working title of Gods And Kings that tells the story of Moses from a somewhat new perspective. Sure, we all know that he freed the Jews from slavery and received The Ten Commandments from God himself, but according to some interpretations he was also a fierce warrior and may have been a commander in the Egyptian army that once led them to victory against the Ethiopians. It’s not entirely clear what version of events will be portrayed in the film, but this is intended to be a “Braveheart-ish version of the Moses story” and they are hoping that Spielberg can “direct it with the gritty reality of Saving Private Ryan.” Sounds like a guaranteed blockbuster if you ask me.

According to Deadline, Warner Brothers has been hounding Spielberg to direct this project since September, but for a while it was unclear if he would be available (he just finished Lincoln and is now currently working on Robopocalypse). Fortunately for them, he seems to be into the idea and has continued to negotiate with them. If all goes well, a deal is expected to be finalized by the end of the month.

The script was written by Stuart Hazeldine (Paradise Lost) and Michael Green (Green Lantern), and the project is being produced by Dan Lin (Terminator Salvation) and Matti Lesham (Paula Abdul: Cardio Cheer). It’s unclear if this is related to another Moses biopic that was being set up at Fox a couple of years ago. They are aiming to start production sometime in March or April of next year, so if Spielberg does sign on, it would definitely be his next project after Robopocalypse. What do you think, are you interested in seeing Steven Spielberg direct a bloodier and grittier version of The Ten Commandments? Could this be even bigger than The Passion of the Christ?