'Exodus' director Ridley Scott has another biblical epic in the works

LOS ANGELES, July 11 (UPI) -- Ridley Scott has another biblical epic in the works.

The 76-year-old director plans to make a film about Old Testament hero David. Scott's production company Scott Free will produce alongside Chernin Entertainment, and Jonathan Stokes has been tapped to write the script.

David is often credited with writing half of the Book of Psalms, and is said to have defeated the Philistine giant Goliath with a slingshot. He shared a close relationship with Saul, the first King of Israel, but was forced to flee into the wilderness after the monarch turned against him. Saul and his heir Jonathan later died in battle, and David himself became king. He ruled for many years until he died of old age, and was buried on Mount Zion.

Scott's next feature, Exodus: Gods and Kings, is a reinterpretation of the Old Testament book of Exodus. The movie stars Christian Bale as Moses, Joel Edgerton as his brother Rameses II, John Turturro as Rameses' father Seti, Sigourney Weaver as Rameses' mother Tuya, Aaron Paul as Moses' confidant Joshua and Ben Kingsley as Joshua's father Nun.

Exodus: Gods and Kings is scheduled for release December 14. Scott has a number of other projects in development, including The Martian with Matt Damon and the sequel to Prometheus. It is unclear if the director would direct the David movie himself.