Much like Moses, Judah Maccabee will get competing movies concerning his Biblical exploits. The first to be announced has generated a ton of controversy, since it’s a film about Jews directed by Mel Gibson; Joe Eszterhas is writing, which feels almost as strange to me. Now, THR tells of another project, one produced by Modern Marvels‘ Bruce Nash that’s hitting either theaters or television, the (obviously) latter in a miniseries format.

This even has a script completed, written by Scott Abbott. Maccabbe, as I previously wrote when covering the other film, “teamed with his father and four brothers to lead the Jewish revolt against the Greek-Syrian armies that had conquered Judea in the second century B.C.” He even created Hanukkah as a way of celebrating his victory; needless to say, the guy’s a big deal. It all sounds like exciting material for some kind of screen adaptation, so you can probably see why things are kicking into gear on this story.

There’s already something of an upper hand granted to this production, as no controversy is surrounding it — nor do I imagine there being any from here on out. Still, as much as I hate to say it, the Gibson film will probably be better. Not just because he can direct historical material with skill, but also due to the backing of a major studio like Warner Bros. They’ll be able to tell this on a deservedly-grand scale; with all due respect, that’s not something I see the producer of Modern Marvels and initial financiers Odyssey Networks delivering. One may not have PR-related intentions, but the other might be a lesser product. Choose what you’d rather see, I suppose.

What are your thoughts on competing Maccabee projects? Does this sound like a worthy telling of the man’s journey?