This Surely Won't Cause Controversy: WB Picks Up 'Gladiator'-Esque 'Pontius Pilate'

Have you been dreaming about a movie that will follow the life and political intrigue of Pontius Pilate, the man who reluctantly sent Jesus Christ to the crucifix? Well, today is your lucky day! It seems the minds over at Warner Bros. think a movie about him is a better idea than making "The Dark Tower" or "The Imitation Game" which they let go in the past week. Oh, Hollywood!

WB has gone ahead and picked up "Pontius Pilate" written by Vera Blasi, who also penned early aughts indies "Woman On Top" and "Tortilla Soup" as well as the upcoming "Emperor" with Matthew Fox and Tommy Lee Jones. So what has the studio all hot and bothered? Well, according to Deadline, the story has a kind of "Braveheart" or "Gladiator" epic-sized scope and tell the story of Pontius' rise from battlefield warrior to cog in the political machine, who is assigned to Judea which just happens to be a seething well of religious tension, and he gets in way over his head, and winds up in control of the fate of this guy named Jesus who claims to be King Of The Jews or something. And oh! This is gonna be like a History Channel wet dream. Dropping in for cameos? How about Caligula, Tiberius, John the Baptist, King Herod, Salome and Mary Magdalene? Damn son, this is gonna be like the "New Year's Eve" of Bible movies! 

We're not sure what Hollywood's sudden fascination with the Bible is (though yes, there is a market), but it kind of boggles the mind that studio types are more willing to roll the dice on this than those aforementoined, jettisoned projects. But hell, maybe we're wrong. With Will Smith tackling Cain and Abel, Paul Verhoeven the story of Jesus, Ridley Scott readying Moses (Steven Spielberg too) and Darren Aronofsky building an ark, we suppose it's better to be prepared for the next possible trend. But we just don't see Joe America ever sighing in frustration that there hasn't been a "Pontius Pilate" movie. Frankly, it sounds like a better idea for television, but we don't get paid the big bucks to make these decisions.