Trivia / Exodus: Gods and Kings

• Banned in China: Egypt banned the movie due to historical inaccuracies.
• Box Office Bomb: Budget, $140 million. Box office, $65,014,513 (domestic), $268,175,631 (worldwide).
• Dawson Casting: Fifty-seven-year old John Turturo playing Seti I who died at forty-four.
• Dyeing for Your Art: Christian Bale almost didn't get the role of Moses because he had gained so much weight for American Hustle. He lost all the weight required and read the first five books of the Bible, as well as the Qur'an to prepare.
• Fake Nationality: Like Charlton Heston and Yul Brynner before them, Christian Bale, who played Moses, isn't Jewish and Joel Edgerton, who played Ramses, isn't Egyptian.
• Reality Subtext: The film is dedicated to Ridley Scott's brother, fellow director Tony Scott, who died in 2012. Since the film is about two brothers, more than a few reviewers have tried to read meanings into this.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Steven Spielberg and later Ang Lee were reportedly attached to a Moses movie called Gods and Kings for Warner Bros., developed independently of this film which was always a Ridley Scott project with the working title Exodus. Since this has claimed the Gods and Kings title, Dueling Movies seems to have been averted.
  • Oscar Isaac and Javier Bardem were offered the role of Ramses but both turned it down.
  • Ridley Scott claims that his final cut ran four hours. The theatrical cut is two and a half.

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