PHOTO: Christian Bale as Moses in ‘Exodus’

Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky

By Anne Cohen July 2, 2014

This is not Charleton Heston’s Moses.

The first stills of Ridley Scott’s “Exodus” have surfaced, and it’s clear we’re in for something new. Christian Bale, our new Moses, is clad in armor and on horseback wielding some kind of weapon.

According to Entertainment Weekly, Bale hesitated before taking on the iconic role.

“Charlton Heston does Charlton Heston better than anyone,” Bale said. “But the biblical account of Moses is extraordinary, and there was lots of room for us to go to places that [Heston’s movie] The Ten Commandments never dreamed of going.”

But don’t worry — Bale will not be be rocking Heston’s signature orange tan. His biggest request before signing on? “No fake beards.” Audiences everywhere salute you, sir.

Along for the ride down the Nile (get it?) are Joel Edgerton, Sigourney Weaver, Ben Kingsley, John Turturro, and Aaron Paul.

Exodus hits theaters December 12, right in time for the Christmas Eve rush.

Anne Cohen was the Forward’s deputy digital media editor. When she’s not looking for the secret Jewish history of Voodoo in New Orleans, or making lists about Ruth Bader Ginsburg, she writes for The Assimilator. She graduated from the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism with an M.S. magazine concentration in 2012.