The last two episodes of Season 3 of this popular series about the life of Christ hit the big screen next week.
Advanced ticket sales for the two-part finale of The Chosen have more than doubled the limited engagement showing in movie theaters: the release of episodes seven and eight will now run for five days instead of two, as originally planned.
The streaming show, which stars American actor Jonathan Roumie in the role of Jesus, has turned into a global phenomenon, garnering well over 400 million views worldwide through just under three full seasons (22 episodes have been released so far). These next two episodes are far and away the most ambitious yet in terms of what it took to make them come to be.
They focus on arguably the most stunning miracle of Jesus' ministry - the feeding of the 5,000 - and were a colossal undertaking for the filmmakers behind the program. In a social media post shot recently at the same location as the big scene, show creator and director Dallas Jenkins said it took over two weeks this past summer to prepare and film the main scene and the smaller set-up ones, and that cast and crew "dealt with the incredible Texas heat for some of the biggest and longest scenes we have ever filmed."
So how big was it? As we reported in June of last year, it was a massive undertaking with thousands of extras who came from all over the world, and Jenkins calls it "by far the most difficult and exhausting work" of his career.
"Over 10,000 people from all 50 states and over 20 countries across three days of filming right here for the feeding of the 5,000."
Now that the director and his team have seen the episodes, however, he says they agree "it was more than worth it." You'll be able to judge for yourself when the two-episode finale of Season 3 runs in theaters from February 2nd through the 6th. You can purchase tickets to a theater near you via this link to the website of distributor Fathom Events.
The episodes will also stream on the usual platforms for free, with number seven releasing on February 5th at 7:00 PM (GMT -5) and eight on February 7th at 9:00 PM ET (GMT -5) in the customary livestreams hosted by Jenkins. Until then, the teaser trailer below will give you a sense of what to expect.