Carell Almighty!

Steve Carell, AKA the 40-year-old virgin, stole the show from Jim Carrey in Bruce Almighty (2003; my review; my Bible study) — and now he’s stealing the entire franchise. Variety reports:

Steve Carell is making a deal to star for Universal in “Evan Almighty.” He’ll likely increase his $500,000 salary for “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” at least tenfold.

Conceived for Jim Carrey until he declined to reprise his role in “Bruce Almighty,” sequel will take the news anchor character Carell played in that film and put him on an Almighty-inspired quest to build an ark in preparation for a great flood.

Tom Shadyac will return as director, and Morgan Freeman is negotiating to encore as God. Steve Oedekerk wrote the script. Plans are for the film to begin production early next year. . . .

Sony has an option to be co-financier of the film, handle foreign distribution and split the pot with U. That studio is a player because it paid $1.5 million against $2.5 million for Bobby Florsheim/Josh Stolberg spec “The Passion of the Ark,” a comedy about a widow told by the Almighty to build the boat. Shadyac, who was part of a rival bid in that spec auction, wanted to use it as the template for a sequel, and Sony made a deal with Universal and Spyglass . . .

U prexy Donna Langley and senior veep Holly Bario will oversee the project. The studio has warmed to the idea of making a line of future “Almighty” pictures, each of which would include Freeman as God. . . .

Given how warm and soothing the God played by Morgan Freeman was, I would be surprised if they suggested that he was somehow causing this flood. Still, the first film did kind-of ask how God could allow suffering, so if the new flood were to follow the template of the old flood, the new film could conceivably ask how God could cause suffering. Or, to come at this from another angle, whereas the first film emphasized the compassion of God, the new film might emphasize his justice instead. At any rate, this could make an interesting companion piece to the original film.

Let’s just hope they don’t go the route of that glib, post-modern mini-series Noah’s Ark (1999; my review), which starred Jon Voight as Noah and F. Murray Abraham as Lot (yes, that Lot).