Ridley Scott
Ridley Scott has spoken out about the controversy that has surrounded the casting of his new film Exodus: Gods and Kings.
Scott is back in the director's chair for the biblical epic, which is set in Egypt.
However, the film has come under fire for casting white actors in all of the major roles: Christian Bale, Joel Edgerton, Sigourney Weaver, and Ben Kingsley are all on board.
Speaking to Yahoo, the director said: "Egypt was - as it is now - a confluence of cultures, as a result of being a crossroads geographically between Africa, the Middle East and Europe," Scott told Yahoo.
"We cast major actors from different ethnicities to reflect this diversity of culture, from Iranians to Spaniards to Arabs.
"There are many different theories about the ethnicity of the Egyptian people, and we had a lot of discussions about how to best represent the culture."
Exodus: Gods and Kings is set to be Scott's telling of Moses leading the Israelite slaves out of Egypt.
Bale is set to take on the role of Moses as he teams up with director Scott for the first time.
Exodus: Gods and Kings is set to hit the big screen on 26th December.
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