Paramount and New Regency have formalized a deal to partner on Noah, the biblical epic that Darren Aronofsky will direct as his follow-up to the Oscar-nominated smash Black Swan.

[Link to WireImage.com]

Logline: A moving retelling of Rosalind Franklin’s involvement in the controversial race for the double helix in the 1950s, and of the discovery that truly shaped her: the beating of her own romantic heart.

Might as well just say Protozoa Pictures and Rachel Weiss, as Ari Handel is producing, too.

Aronofsky said that at this year’s festival he’ll vote for the films that affect him “emotionally and intellectually the most.”

io9 have an exclusive chapter of Max Berry’s new cyborg novel, Machine Man. As previously mentioned, Darren Aronofsky is currently attached to direct. The Hollywood Reporter described the novel as “‘amped up pop-thriller,’ the story centers on a gadget geek and engineer at a forward thinking tech firm who is tired of going through life average and unnoticed and is also obsessed with his own self improvement. He decides to replace his weak, fleshy parts with high-end titanium performance upgrades of his own design but then discovers other entities have designs on him for their own motives.”

Given the expansive, and often debated scale of Noah’s tale, one wonders which version would find its way to Aronofsky’s script: a smaller character study on the biblical figure painted in a more realistic light, or a Roland Emmerich-style disaster movie. The filmmaker tells IFC that he’s leaning towards the epic option. “I want to make a big event film, and I think it can be that.” [IFC]

Michael Chabon’s and Ayelet Waldman’s HBO project will be directed — the pilot, at least — by Darren Aronofsky, Oscar-nominated director of “Black Swan.”

Chabon and Waldman, who are married, have been working together on “Hobgoblin.” Little is known about the project other than that it involves magicians and con men using their unique skills to combat Hitler during World War II. [Jacket Copy]

Machine Man, Human Nature, Noah, Hobgoblin? Of course, everyone reports the slightest hint of rumor as a scoop. But, I’m curious as to which project Darren is actually going to take on.

Vulture hears that Aronofsky is in talks with Christian Bale about possibly starring in his take on Noah’s Ark, to help secure studio backing for it. Presumably, Aronofsky wants Bale for the lead, even though Noah was 600 years old when the Great Flood hit, and Bale is only 37. [Vulture]

I’ve been hoping for an Aronofsky/Bale film for while now. Fingers crossed.