Is Paramount going to remake The Ten Commandments?

Is Paramount going to remake The Ten Commandments? October 12, 2015

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Paramount Pictures seems to have a thing for Bible epics. First they revived the genre with Darren Aronofsky’s Noah, and then they partnered with MGM on a remake of Ben-Hur that is due next year. Now comes word — via The Tracking Board — that the studio may be planning a remake of The Ten Commandments, as well.1

There are no details about the project yet, beyond the fact that it has two producers — Mary Parent and Cale Boyter — who both worked on Noah. Boyter was also an executive producer on the non-epic Bible movie The Nativity Story.

The Tracking Board says the producers are currently looking for a writer-director who can offer “a different take” on the story than previous films have offered.

This news comes only ten months after 20th Century Fox released Exodus: Gods and Kings to poor reviews and middling returns at the box office.

Some people might look at the disappointing grosses for Exodus and conclude that audiences aren’t really interested in movies about Moses. Others, however — presumably including the producers of this remake — might argue that there’s still an audience out there for movies about the Exodus if they are well-made.

If there really is room for other Moses movies right now, then I hope someone dusts off the Moses project that was being developed at Warner Brothers shortly before Exodus got the green light. From what I hear, it could have been really good.

One thing’s for sure: It wouldn’t be too hard to make a better Moses movie than Exodus: Gods and Kings. That film left a lot of room for improvement.

1. Of course, the famous 1956 version of The Ten Commandments was, itself, a remake of a 1923 film that was set partly in the present day; both versions were directed by Cecil B. DeMille. There have been other productions with that title since, including a 2006 miniseries and a 2007 animated film.


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