LaHaye, Straczynski developing Bible movies

Thanks to Queen Spoo for reminding me that The Resurrection — the upcoming film that is being developed by Screen Gems, Tim LaHaye and screenwriter Lionel Chetwynd — now has a tentative release date of February 22, 2008. I noticed this at BoxOfficeMojo.com a while back, but forgot to note it here.

She also notes something that I had never heard before, which is that Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski recently announced that he is writing the script for “a big budget historical movie based on the life of King David,” to be turned in by mid-January. Akiva Goldsman, who recently bagged the most lucrative screenwriting contract in history for Angels & Demons, the sequel to The Da Vinci Code, is one of the film’s producers. I am very, very intrigued — and of course, I cannot help but wonder how the film will compare to Bruce Beresford’s King David (1985)!

UPDATE: This website adds the detail that Straczynski “suggests thinking along the lines of Braveheart or Gladiator.”