Even as the moviegoing community buzzes about Ridley Scott’s new sci-fi/horror film, Prometheus (read our review), the director is already looking ahead to future projects. Quite literally, in fact, as Scott begins production on The Counselor later this month, which was scripted by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Cormac McCarthy (The Road).
It turns out that Scott has yet another film in-development: Moses, a new look at the famous Biblical figure’s life (or, rather, certain aspects of it). That does not mean the director is neglecting his other planned ventures; indeed, it seems that Scott has already mapped-out an entire scene (possibly, the opening) to his Blade Runner quasi-sequel.
Earlier this year, it was announced that Steven Spielberg is also planning to make a new film about Moses, titled Gods and Kings. Whereas that project is being fashioned as a grand-scale Biblical epic (described as Braveheart meets Saving Private Ryan), Scott’s comments to Esquire indicate that his Moses movie will be more of an intimate character study:
“I probably shouldn’t have let that slip out. I’m not supposed to say anything [but ‘Moses’ is] definitely in the cards, though. What’s interesting to me about Moses isn’t the big stuff that everybody knows. It’s things like his relationship with Ramses [II, the pharaoh]. I honestly wasn’t paying attention in school when I was told the story of Moses. Some of the details of his life are extraordinary.”
Many who have seen Prometheus would probably agree with Esquire‘s assessment that the film has “an Old Testament vibe”; similarly, McCarthy’s work is generally laden with Biblical allegory and imagery. Taking that all into account, the idea that Scott is interested in tackling literal Biblical subject matter (following Prometheus and The Counselor) makes sense.
While some people will probably be disappointed to hear that Scott is trying his hand at telling a Bible story that has been adapted many times over (see: The Ten Commandments, Prince of Egypt), others may find the simple combination of religious content and Ridley Scott too enticing to care. A Moses re-telling from Scott, with the aesthetic and production values of films like Gladiator and Kingdom of Heaven, would certainly be a feast for the eyes (if nothing else).
The more personal approach that Scott alluded to would distinguish Moses from not only Gods and Kings, but impending Biblical movies such as Darren Aronofsky’s Noah and Scott Derrickson’s Goliath. Of course, given that other projects are still vying for Scott’s attention (including, the Gertrude Bell and Simon Mann biopics), Moses isn’t guaranteed to happen just yet. Still, this is definitely a developing story worth keeping an eye on.
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Ridley Scott Describes Blade Runner 2 Scene
During an interview with Collider, Scott got around to discussing his planned Blade Runner sequel – a project that will be set several years after the original movie, feature a female protagonist, and reunite Scott with Blade Runner screenwriter, Hampton Fancher. Without too much prompting, the director offered the following juicy description of a sequence from Blade Runner 2 (as he is currently envisioning it):
“There’ll be a vast farmland where there are no hedges or anything in sight, and it’s flat like the plains of – where’s the Great Plains in America? Kansas, where you can see for miles. And it’s dirt, but it’s being raked. On the horizon is a combine harvester which is futuristic with klieg lights, ‘cause it’s dawn. The harvester is as big as six houses. In the foreground is a small white clapboard hut with a porch as if it was from ‘Grapes of Wrath’. From the right comes a car, coming in about six feet off the ground being chased by a dog. And that’s the end of it, I’m not gonna tell you anything else.”
If we were to judge solely by the picturesque scene suggested by Scott, it sounds as though the new Blade Runner movie will offer a visually-striking contrast to the seedy, futuristic metropolis setting of its predecessor. The film could likewise thematically compliment the existential ideas raised in the first Blade Runner, while also expanding the universe further.
Of course, given the vague, but intriguing, details we have on Blade Runner 2 so far, it’s easy to start stringing together conspiracy theories about what Scott and Fancher are planning. Feel free to offer your own thoughts on the matter in the comments section.
We will continue to keep you posted on both Moses and Blade Runner 2 as more information is released.
Meanwhile, Prometheus opens in theaters around the U.S. this Friday.
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