If Tom Hiddleston is looking to top his performance as an actual god in Marvel's "Thor" franchise, playing an epic hero first made famous by Charlton Heston isn't a bad place to start. According to Deadline, Hiddleston is the studio's first choice to headline a new adaptation of "Ben-Hur: A Tale Of The Christ," the novel whose first big-screen incarnation paved the way for big-budget filmmaking back in 1959.

If he scores the role, Hiddleston will be playing Judah Ben-Hur, a wealthy prince of Jerusalem who crosses the wrong powerful people and ends up plunged into a lifelong ordeal of slavery, poverty, revenge, redemption, and -- of course -- chariot racing.

Although the original film is probably most famous for its dramatic scenes in the arena, this remake is being spearheaded by Mark Burnett and Roma Downey, the filmmakers behind the critically acclaimed "The Bible" miniseries on The History Channel, which means that we can probably expect plenty of substance and historical detail on top of the action.

Meanwhile, with Hiddleston only rumored so far to be potentially eyeing the role, for now we'll just have to imagine how great he'd look going wheel-to-wheel with his nemesis in an old-school chariot chase.