With the recent confirmation that Darren Aronofsky’s Biblical epic Noah will go before cameras sometime this summer, casting for the film is now shifting into high gear as they search for an actor to headline the film. The movie is supposedly budgeted at $130 million, making it the biggest film Aronofsky has ever directed — which also creates the need to land a lead actor with some serious box office pull. Initially, Christian Bale was rumoured to be circling the role of Noah, but eventually he passed and Michael Fassbender was being considered. However, this month it appears that Aronofsky is closing in on a much bigger name instead: Russell Crowe.

According to Variety, Russell Crowe is now officially in negotiations for the lead role in Noah. If he does sign on, it will be the first time that Aronofsky and Crowe have worked together, although it won’t be the first time he starred in a movie that was scripted by John Logan (Gladiator). The main character is described as “a man who loves Earth and all of its animal inhabitants but has become disillusioned with the way humans have treated their planet.” Clearly it sounds like the film will have some sort of eco message underlying the story.

At one point, Russell Crowe was probably the biggest A-list actor in Hollywood, although in recent years he hasn’t been quite as omnipresent. His last major film was Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood, although even that underperformed in the U.S., making just over $100 million. He will also appear in Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel as Superman’s father Jor-El. If you ask me, he seems like a solid choice to play Noah… at the very least we know he can grow a decent beard. Are you looking forward to seeing Darren Aronofsky team up with Russell Crowe?