Watch the intense first trailer for Ridley Scott's biblical epic Exodus: Gods and Kings

It's been an interesting year for Christian-themed movies. God's Not Dead, Son of God, and Heaven is For Real were all massive hits, but recent entries like Moms' Night Out and The Identical have sputtered out at the box office. Into the fray comes an entry with a far bigger budget: Ridley Scott's Exodus: Gods and Kings, which combines his Gladiator instincts with the story of Moses.

Christian Bale plays Moses, squaring off against Joel Edgerton's Ramses. This trailer faithfully hits most of the beats from the biblical story, from the prophecy naming Moses as the liberator of Israelites to the host of plagues unleashed upon Egypt. "Follow me and you will be free!" promises Moses as he takes the freed slaves across the parted Red Sea.

Exodus bears no small resemblance to Darren Aronofsky's Noah, a similarly big-budget, star-studded biblical tale that grossed over $350 million worldwide when it hit theaters earlier this year. We'll see if Exodus can find a similar audience when it premieres in December.

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