Joaquin Phoenix Sought To Play Jesus in Mary Magdalene Biopic

Here's some weird/interesting casting news. Deadline says the makers of an upcoming Mary Magdalene biopic (starring Rooney Mara) are eyeballing Joaquin Phoenix to play the role of Jesus of Nazareth. The movie is being produced by the same people who made The King's Speech, so I'm guessing the tone of this film will not be satire.

I'm not saying it's a bad choice, as Phoenix has really embodied some serious roles in his career! He's done some goofy stuff as of late, so maybe this is a move for him to attempt to dive back into more serious roles? I can picture it, but I just don't actually see it working out. What about you? Do you think Phoenix would make a good Christ?