Darren Aronofsky wants Christian Bale to star in his Noah epic?

So it seems, according to Vulture:

Just how do you float a $130 million movie about the end of the world with no movie stars? If you’re Noah director Darren Aronofsky, you try to attach one, ASAP.
Vulture hears that Aronofsky is in talks with Christian Bale about possibly starring in his take on Noah's Ark, to help secure studio backing for it. Presumably, Aronofsky wants Bale for the lead, even though Noah was 600 years old when the Great Flood hit, and Bale is only 37.

Regardless, locking down Bale early — even before there’s money to make an offer — would have the twofold benefit of both securing a leading man and helping land the rest of the money needed to make such an expensive, effects-driven film. If Bale commits, that would help provide clarity to the trio of studios considering co-financing the movie: While Noah is set up at the Fox-based mini-studio New Regency, its massive budget means that some other studio will need to come in and help with the heavy lifting. For the trio of studios circling the project, which includes Paramount, Summit, and Fox, knowing Bale is in the wings would help them get a forecast on what Noah might make in foreign territories before they commit to making such a pricey picture.

Former Fox production president turned current Regency president Hutch Parker insisted that “there hasn’t been any change [on the project] since it was last reported.”

-Joey's Two Cents: It's a very interesting casting choice, to say the least...thoughts?

Darren Aronofsky's next film might actually be his Noah dream project!

Collider has the story:

One of the reasons Darren Aronofsky reportedly signed on to do The Wolverine is because he wanted a blockbuster hit that he could leverage to make personal projects that required a larger budget than his past work. Then he dropped off that film for personal reasons, but perhaps Black Swan grossing $315 million worldwide off a $13 million budget also had something to do with it. Now that he has that success (along with a Best Director Oscar nomination) to his credit, Aronofsky has more clout and it looks like he’s using it to try and get Noah off the ground.

In February, we reported that Aronofsky was going to tell the story of the Bible’s Noah by creating a graphic novel with artist Nico Henrichon. Now John Logan is re-writing the film’s script and various studios are getting interested in co-financing the ambitious project. Hit the jump for more details.

Deadline reports that New Regency is interested in co-financing the film with Fox, Paramount, and Summit individually considering if they want to take on the other half of the film’s proposed $130 million budget. The project has been described as a “big fantasy epic”, but Aronofsky has personally talked about the darkness in the movie that usually doesn’t lend itself to big-budget flicks. While the timely environmental themes could work (Aronofsky described Noah as “the first environmentalist”), the director also says that Noah has some serious survivor’s guilt and that “He’s a dark, complicated character.”

Aronofsky came close to directing another biblical epic, Exodus (previously titled Moses), about the story of Moses, but he reportedly wants to make Noah, a film he’s been dreaming of since he was thirteen, his next movie. Hopefully his dream comes true and we get to see Aronofsky work on his biggest canvas yet.

-Joey's Two Cents: With the passion Aronofsky has about this, I'd imagine it could be something special...thoughts?