Every film needs a villain, even if they’re lacking one in the original source material, and that apparently goes double for Darren Aronofsky’s upcoming biblical epic, Noah.
He already has Russell Crowe signed up to portray the holy man and gatherer of animals two by two, but we can’t imagine that he did so without some opposition, when he cut down an entire rainforest worth of trees to build his ark.
And that’s where Ray Winstone comes in, as it looks like he’ll be playing the villain once again.Aronofsky has offered Winstone the role of chief nemesis in his film, a role which he also considered offering to Val Kilmer, Liev Schreiber and Liam Neeson at one point.
Meanwhile, the rest of the cast is also shaping up. Logan Lerman and Douglas Booth will be helping Noah build his big boat, while Emma Watson has joined the cast as well, as a love interest for Booth.
No final word yet on who will play Noah’s wife, but it looks like Julianne Moore and Jennifer Connelly are in the final running. As big a fan as I am of Ray Winstone however, I would have paid ridiculous sums of money to see Neeson put his specific set of skills to use if he had been cast as the bible baddie.
Noah starts shooting in August, for a 2014 release date.
Last Updated: June 12, 2012
James Francis
June 12, 2012 at 11:09
I though God was the villain? Liam Neeson had the credentials for that…
What do we know about this film, though? It’s quoted as being biblical, but does anyone know if Aranofsky is going that way? There is plenty of speculation around the origins of the Biblical tale – the best known one being from the Babylonians. He might be basing it around what really happened instead of the popular version.
Kervyn Cloete
June 12, 2012 at 12:27
From what I’ve read, and based on the the French prologue comic Aranofsky did, this is going to take a more historical rather than a biblical approach.