Warner Bros. Shelves Gibson's Planned Maccabee Movie Project

It sounded like a bad fit from the beginning.

Oscar-winning director Mel Gibson wanted to make a movie out of the Jewish Maccabee revolt. Gibson’s directorial track record wasn’t the problem. His notorious anti-Semitic rants caused Jewish groups to recoil at the thought of Gibson telling this chapter of their history.

Now, the project appears to be in limbo, according to TheWrap.com:

Warner Bros. has put on hold a controversial Mel Gibson movie project about the Jewish Maccabee revolt in the 2nd Century B.C. after reading the script by writer Joe Eszterhas, TheWrap has learned. 

A spokesman for the studio told TheWrap: “We are analyzing what to do with the project.”

Gibson’s box office clout faces an intriguing test next month when his new film, “Get the Gringo,” debuts not on the big screen but via DirecTV May 1.

Should “Gringo” flop, it will apply more pressure on Warner Bros. to keep the Maccabee project shelved indefinitely.