When last we reported on filmmaker Darren Aronofsky’s long-gestating dream project Noah in February of this year, it seemed like the screen version would continue to languish in development hell. So Aronofsky, much as he did with his ambitiously religious The Fountain, began working on a graphic novel adaptation of he and frequent collaborator Ari Handel’s screenplay. Few details have emerged about the project since then, and it was not known what approach the story would have, whether historical, fantastical, or a combination of the two. Recently it was announced that the film was moving ahead, with Paramount Pictures and New Regency co-funding the movie and John Logan, screenwriter of Gladiator and The Aviator re-writing the screenplay.

But little has been said about the Graphic Novel edition, until now. Getting a first look at the overall project, European audiences now have the chance to read the recently released French-language edition Noé: pour la cruaute des hommes, the first volume of the Noah book collaboration with artist Nico Henrichon. With the release of the book, details are beginning to emerge that reveal more and more about what the Academy Award-nominated filmmaker has planned for this biblical epic. The synopsis of the book, translated from the French, reads:

“It was a world without hope, a world with no rain and no crops, dominated by warlords and their barbarian hordes.In this cruel world, Noah was a good man. Seasoned fighter, mage and healer but he only wanted peace for him and his family. Yet every night, Noah was beset by visions of an endless flood, symbolizing the destruction of all life. Gradually, he began to understand the message sent him by the Creator. He had decided to punish the men and kill them until the last. But he gave Noah a last chance to preserve life on Earth…”