The folks at /Film report that the famed director is nearing a deal to shoot what’s being described as a “gritty” reimagining of the Old Testament tale of the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt:

“Gods and Kings would follow Moses from his adoption in infancy to the acquisition of the Ten Commandments. It is written by Stuart Hazeldine (Paradise Lost) and Michael Green, a writer on Green Lantern and TV show The River.

Reporting on the project, Deadline emphasizes that Gods and Kings is not being developed as a 3D film. That shouldn’t surprise anyone who has been paying attention to Spielberg’s recent comments about film and 3D. He has said he’ll continue to shoot live-action on film until the last lab is closed, and unless he wanted to post-convert a project, that precludes using 3D. (Shooting native 3D requires the use of digital cameras.)”

Spielberg’s schedule wouldn’t clear until 2013 to begin working on the project, /Film notes. Presumably it would look a whole lot different from the Cecil B. DeMille holiday standard “The Ten Commandments.”