Top filmmakers in the Christian genre are bringing productions to the silver screen this year.
Several high-profile movies look to make for a big 2024 in faith-based cinema and it all kicks off next month. Though actually not a movie in the traditional sense, The Chosen will get the ball rolling when it debuts its fourth season in theaters nationwide on February 1st.
The hit streaming series about the life of Jesus will roll out the first three episodes of the new season together on that date, then follow up later in the month with two more installments of the remaining five episodes, as we previously reported here. The show, which stars Jonathan Roumie in the role of Jesus, is expected to run the gamut of emotions from "painful" to "joyous," according to creator/director Dallas Jenkins, as it crosses the mid-point of its planned seven season run.
So, the Christian moviemaker will both start the year for faith-based projects and end it, because his feature film The Best Christmas Pageant Ever is scheduled to release in theaters for the 2024 Yuletide season. Based on the book by the same title, Jenkins began shooting it last month in Canada.
Other top filmmakers in the genre also have projects coming to the big screen on the near horizon. The Erwin Brothers - Andrew and Jon - are producing two other features through their Kingdom Story Company (that outfit is also behind the aforementioned Christmas flick from Jenkins). Ordinary Angels, based on a true story of a Kentucky community that rallied together to save a critically-ill girl during a blizzard, features Hollywood stars Hillary Swank and Alan Ritchson in the lead roles and releases on February 23rd.
The second is Unsung Hero - the directorial debut of Christian music star Joel Smallbone - and it will follow on March 26th. He is half of the duo For King + Country - with his brother Luke - and the picture charts the family's move from Australia to America when they were boys and focuses on how they overcame difficulties in the process. Joel not only directs the film, but he also co-wrote it and plays the on-screen role of his father, David Smallbone.
The Kendrick Brothers are the final big-name team with a production on this year's slate of faith-based movies. Their feature film - The Forge - follows a boy's transition to manhood and the involvement of Christian mentors who help him along the way. It stars some regulars from past Kendricks' movies - Fireproof, War Room, Overcomer - like Karen Abercrombie, Cameron Arnett, Priscilla Shirer, and T.C. Stallings - and its due to release in August.
There will no doubt be other faith-based films out as well and Christian Film Blog will keep you up to date as the year progresses. In the meantime, you can check out the trailer for Ordinary Angels below.