In a world rife with sin, where evil men run rampant over a decaying earth, God has no choice but to purify his creation with the waters of heaven. But amidst the debauchery and chaos of a poisoned planet, there is one man, a weary warrior turned to peace, who is worthy of a chance at salvation. His name is Noah (Bum bum bum ba bum….bum bum bum ba bum). That’s the fairly kickass premise of Darren Aronofsky’s long-gestating pre- (but aesthetically post-) apocalyptic epic Noah, which may, as we learn today, finally start shooting this summer in anticipation of a Fall 2013 release. Hit the jump for more, including information regarding the film's "big villain."Aronofsky’s go-to cinematographer Matthew Libatique (Requiem for a Dream) revealed to Oscar Poker co-host Jeffrey Wells (via The Playlist) that he’s discussed the script with the suddenly-bankable director, who has plans to start shooting his biblical epic in New York and Iceland by July (previous reports had production pegged for earlier in the Spring). Latest rumblings have Michael Fassbender linked to the lead role of the middle-aged protagonist, but it’s unclear if he’ll be able to accommodate the summer shoot date given his in-demandedness.Oscar Poker co-host Jeffrey Wells recounted his convo with Libatique thusly:

"There's a big villain part, gotta have a villain in the story of Noah. Someone who's saying 'Listen, don't listen to him. We're fine! We don't need to build any ark. Don't be so alarmist! Don't be so fundamentalist.' You know? One of those guys.”

Presumably, whoever’s cast will need to be able to pull off that tricky water-logged corpse look. If you’re inexplicably not already chomping at the bit for this one, take a gander at the animated awesomeness below. It's the trailer for a European-released graphic novel version of the project, which Aronofsky put together before finding a home for his pricy production at Paramount and New Regency. Co-written by Aronofsky and Ari Handle, with art by Nico Henrichon, it’s tough to look at this version without imagining what the man who made visual feast The Fountain could do with the same material on the silver screen.