According to a report published in the Los Angeles Times, Mel Gibson will produce a movie on the life of Judah Maccabee, the Jewish warrior who fought against Antiochus Epiphanes. Below is an excerpt from the news report:
Mel Gibson, the Oscar winner who has defended himself against accusations of anti-Semitism, is developing a film for Warner Bros. about the life of Judah Maccabee, the warrior whose ancient victory is celebrated by Hanukkah.
Gibson’s Icon Productions has closed the producing deal with Warner Bros., and Joe Eszterhas will write the screenplay. Gibson’s camp said the filmmaker will decide if he’s directing after the script is done and that he has not ruled out the possibility that he could act in the film.
Maccabee, his four brothers and his father led the Jewish revolt against the Greek-Syrian armies. The role of his father, the priest Mattathias, might be a logical one for the 55-year-old Gibson if he does opt to appear in the film.
Maccabee is a figure who has fascinated Gibson for years, and at one point he considered this as a follow-up project to “The Passion of the Christ” in 2004. Gibson’s camp describes the film in terms that resonate with past Gibson projects, such as “Braveheart” or Roland Emmerich’s “The Patriot.”
Read the article in its entirety here.
Dr. Claude Mariottini - Professor of Old Testament 
I’m so looking forward to seeing this film!
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Ilia,
I believe that Mel Gibson will make a great movie about the Maccabees. I will be one of the first persons in line to see the movie.
Claude Mariottini
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Finally! I will finally understand what Prof. Koivisto was trying to teach us in the Intertestament & the Gospels class! “The Hammer” vs Antiochus on the Big Screen. Who would have thought?
Mel Gibson sure does dream big dreams. While historians may find this subject interesting, it will be fascinating to see how and if he is able to sell it to the ones who will finance the project not to mention the larger audience. It will probably be as graphic as The Passion and Apocalypto. It will also probably be pretty expensive to make.
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Dan,
If the movie is well made, it will be expensive. However, a great movie can attract a large audience that will repay the cost of production. And Mel Gibson knows how to make good movies.
Claude Mariottini
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