One of adventure actor Tom Cruise's upcoming roles that is attracting controversy is Methuselah, a biblical character in the Old Testament who defied the laws of aging and lived to be 969 years old. Cruise plays the powerful yet fully mortal character, who, like protagonists he has performed before, has the uncanny ability to defeat enemies and surmount obstacles with a nearly supernatural prowess. The movie's release date hasn't been announced yet.

In the Bible, Methuselah is portrayed as a great leader and warrior. Although only briefly mentioned in the first book of the Bible, Genesis, he is given more attention in the book of Enoch. Methuselah was the son of Enoch, the father of Lamech, and the grandfather of Noah.

Methuselah had a powerful weapon called the sword of Methuselah, an object that can kill evil spirits and demons. 

The Bible-inspired project, which is being called Methuselah, is from David Heyman and Warner Brothers, with Joachim Rønning slated to direct the film. According to Deadline, Methuselah has been in the works for some time for both Cruise and the movie studio.

The movie will focus on Methuselah's "legendary longevity" and "unparalleled survival skills,"according to WRN. ScreenCrush calls it the "Old Testament equivalent of Highlander."

Of those who died a mortal death, Methuselah was the oldest in the Bible. Noah of the ark was 950, and the first man on Earth according to the Bible, Adam, was 930. The name Methuselah means death. Meth means "mortal" and the addition of "selah" suggests the name harkens the coming of the Flood. In Greek, the name has a slightly different meaning: "when he dies, there shall be an emission." This is derived from the New Testament Greek Lexicon. Many scholars confirm Methuselah means "when he dies it shall come" or "upon his death there will be a major change."

Enoch was the prophet who is traditionally believed to have written the Book of Enoch, which is not part from the biblical canon used by Jews. Christian denominations also do not consider the book as part of the canon or inspired by God. However, the authors of the New Testament were influenced by the content of the book of Enoch, and it was used by the group that collected the Dead Sea Scrolls. Methuselah was mentioned in the book in the Epistle of Enoch, in the sub-section "Exhortation," which is a brief list of exhortations "to follow the righteousness said by Enoch to his son Methuselah."