Let the battle of the Moses epics begin!  Two high profile films about the Biblical character have been in development for the past year or so—one at Warner Bros. with Steven Spielberg flirting with the director’s chair, and one at Fox that has Ridley Scott attached to direct.  Yesterday, Warner Bros.’ film Gods and Kings was dealt a blow when Spielberg finally left the project, and now it appears that Fox is ramping things up on Exodus as Scott is looking to make the pic his next film after he completes post-production on The Counselor.  The Gladiator filmmaker has taken a big step forward towards production, as he and Fox are apparently courting Christian Bale to tackle the Moses role.  Hit the jump for more.

Per Deadline, Fox is “putting a rush” on Exodus and the studio and Scott are now looking to nab Christian Bale as their star.  No deals have been made and the report cautions that this isn’t etched in stone, but Bale would certainly be a fascinating choice to play Moses in a Ridley Scott-helmed epic.

Bale hasn’t signed on to any big-budget films since last year’s The Dark Knight Rises, opting instead to take on interesting dramatic roles in Scott Cooper’s Out of the Furnace and two Terrence Malick films, also signing on to star in the survival drama Everest.  He’s currently shooting David O. Russell’s untitled ABSCAM movie with a stellar ensemble cast, but I’d be very curious to see his iteration of Moses.  This isn’t the first time Bale has flirted with a Biblical epic, as he was considered for the lead in Darren Aronofsky’s Noah that eventually went to Russell Crowe.

Exodus most recently became a priority when a rewrite of the script by Steven Zaillian (Schindler’s List, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) came in, prompting Scott to consider this his next project.  Warner Bros. is still trying to move forward with its own Moses pic in the wake of Spielberg’s exit, as they’re now looking at Ang Lee to step in and take the helm.  Lee hasn’t taken a formal meeting yet and he’s poised to shoot the pilot for the FX series Tyrant this summer, so he likely wouldn’t be able to devote his full attention to the production until this fall.  Look for more news on the dueling Moses films soon as both studios race to have their epic in theaters first.

If you’re in need of a refresher on the life of Moses, I highly suggest you check out Brendan’s amusing timeline of events right here.