Danny Boyle is getting biblical. Maybe.
Variety says the Trainspotting director will helm Methuselah for Warner Bros, with Michael B. Jordan set to star. The script will be a re-write from Simon Beaufoy, who has worked with Boyle multiple times, including on the Oscar winner Slumdog Millionaire.
Apparently the story was set to revolve around the Biblical tale of the man who lived to be 969 years old. That sounds like a great plot for a movie. But now it seems that the team in charge have changed their minds and are taking a “new approach” to the film. New approach? Will it still retain the Biblical basis? Will the lead character still live to be nearly 1,000? How much are they changing? What the hell is going on here?
I’m scratching my head about this one because Variety goes on to report that WB considers the movie to be “high priority with the potential to spark a franchise.” That doesn’t sound like a film semi-based on a Biblical story…unless Jordan is playing some ancient, centuries-old secret agent or something. I don’t know, it just seems that there is a lot more going on below the surface with Methuselah.
Whatever it is, I want to see it. I firmly believe that Danny Boyle is one of the best — if not the best — directors alive and any time he is behind the camera we should be happy. He has been playing it a little low-key lately (Yesterday anyone?) and I am excited to see him tackle something ambitious again. Plus the idea of him working with Michael B. Jordan, a young actor who is consistently great, makes me really happy. Everything about this news makes me happy, to be honest. Even the fact that I have no idea what the film will be about makes me happy. Danny Boyle is just pure cinematic joy to me.