While it’s seeming more and more possible that Darren Aronofsky won’t make the wish of flood enthusiasts everywhere come true by casting someone to play a giant wave or two (or three, or four…) in his Noah, he’s making up for that hideous oversight with a stellar cast that so far includes Russell Crowe, Saoirse Ronan, Douglas Booth, Logan Lerman, Emma Watson, Ray Winstone, and (probably) Jennifer Connolly — a litany of talents that he’s just rounded out with no less than Sir Anthony Hopkins.
Aronofsky himself announced the news this morning via his Twitter, in a tweet that reads: “i’m honored to be working with the great sir anthony hopkins. we just added him to the stellar cast of ?#Noah?. ?#methuselahlives?”
Methuselah lives! Hurray! Wait, who is Methuselah again?
Because I have failed my Catholic school upbringing in just about every way possible, I’ve turned to Wikipedia to enlighten me on Methuselah, which tell us he is:
“the oldest person whose age is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. Extra-biblical tradition maintains that he died on the 11th of Cheshvan of the year 1656 (Anno Mundi, after Creation), at the age of 969, seven days before the beginning of the Great Flood. According to Rashi on Genesis 7:4, God delayed the Flood specifically because of the seven days of mourning in honor of the righteous Methuselah. Methuselah was the son of Enoch and the grandfather of Noah.
The name Methuselah, or the phrase ‘old as Methuselah,’ is commonly used to refer to any living thing reaching great age.”
That’s right! He’s that really old dude! And also Noah’s grandfather! And also, he dies before the Flood even happens. So, basically, Methuselah sounds like a pretty nifty character who escapes the worst disaster humankind has ever known and is also quite beloved by God. Good one for Hopkins. It will certainly be better than The Wolfman.
Noah is currently filming, and has a set release date of March 28, 2014.
