It stars familiar faces from the Christian filmmakers' previous productions and releases next summer.
The Kendrick Brothers duo of Alex and Stephen have gone back to their roots with The Forge, the new movie they have produced with their long-term partners at Affirm Films and Provident Films. They shot the picture this past June and July in Albany, Georgia, which is their hometown and the place where they made their early hits: Facing the Giants, Fireproof, and Courageous.
As the first-look trailer they released today makes clear, they are re-enlisting much of the principal cast from their top-grossing production War Room, which generated $73 million in worldwide ticket sales and was number one at the U.S. box office on its opening weekend back in 2015. Among them are Priscilla Shirer, Karen Abercrombie and T.C. Stallings, while regulars from other Kendrick Brothers' productions taking part include Cameron Arnett and Ken Bevel.
According to a press release, The Forge tells a story about "the power of mentorship" by focusing on a 19-year-old boy who has been raised by a single mother and has no plans for his life other than playing basketball and video games. That is until he meets a man, played by Arnett, who takes him under his wing and helps him "discover how God might have a greater purpose" for him.
The Kendricks, long one of the top filmmaking teams in the Christian genre, made this picture so that it "takes place in the same cinematic world as War Room," though at least some the characters in it seem to be different, from what we have been able to deduce and judging by what Alex says in that aforementioned press release.
"We were already inspired with a powerful storyline, but the entire movie vaulted up when we realized it beautifully fit alongside our favorite War Room characters."
The Forge is scheduled to release in theaters on August 23rd, 2024, and Christian Film Blog will continue to bring you updates in the meantime. Until then, you can get a better feel for the picture from the first-look trailer below.