No, we don’t mean that Christopher Columbus has found the face of Jesus Christ in a pie or the seeds of a tomato: he’s helping to produce an adaptation of Anne Rice’s tome Christ The Lord: Out Of Egypt.

Cyrus Nowrasteh, who last made The Stoning Of Soraya M, is on to co-write and direct the film after Rice approached him about taking on the job. It was a quick leap from there to Columbus, who agreed to produce the pic via his 1492 Pictures company.

The plot follows a seven year-old Jesus leaving Egypt to return home to Nazareth, where he discovers who his father really is and that his life has a slightly different destiny to that of his friends.

"This film has the potential to be a cinematic classic, a picture that will appeal to all ages, all around the world," Columbus said in a statement picked up by Variety. "I am proud to be part of this incredible production." Given that Christmas is almost upon us, it would seem that filmmakers and other creative types are getting ideas in their stockings: there’s also Seth Grahame-Smith working up a script based on his book Unholy Night, which reimagines another chunk of the young JC’s life.

Columbus hasn’t directed a film himself since 2010’s Percy Jackson but he’s been busy as a producer, backing the likes of The Help. He’s also got a wealth of projects on the go, with a remake of Troll Hunter and several other novel adaptations including The Cypress House and Charles Yu' How To Live Safely In A Science Fictional Universe, which was announced just a couple of days ago.