Is Hollywood Returning To Biblical Epics?

They are the greatest stories ever told - the stories of The Bible.

The History channel's epic production of The Bible is earning record-breaking ratings. Nearly 15 million people watched the first episode of the six-part series.

Mark Burnett, the king of reality TV, and his wife, actress Roma Downey, who plays Mary, the mother of Jesus, produced the mini-series.

Now, Hollywood is realizing that the good book can lead to big success.

There's suddenly a "flood" of Biblical movies in the works, with at least a half dozen high profile films in production.

The headline in The Hollywood Reporter reads, "Are Moses, Noah and Judah Maccabee the next Bella, Batman and Harry Potter?"

Sophie Schillaci, an editor from The Hollywood Reporter said, “The Bible is a natural fit for the screen. It has a built in audience, built in drama storyline and characters. It just transitions so well from the page to the screen.”

Even heartthrob Brad Pitt is rumored to play Pontius Pilate, the Roman prefect who authorized the crucifixion of Jesus.

And Steven Spielberg is in talks to direct a new movie about Moses harkening back to Charlton Heston's legendary performance in The Ten Commandments. 

We haven't seen anything like this since the heyday of the Biblical epic of the 50s and 60s in films like King of Kings, The Robe, and Ben-Bur.

Now, thanks to the success of the History channels, The Bible, we are learning once again that the good book truly contains the greatest stories ever told.