The creator/director of the hit show about the life of Christ plans a follow-up series and an animated program for children, among other productions.
Through four of its planned seven seasons, The Chosen has built a massive following of some 250 million viewers around the world and turned Dallas Jenkins into one of the most influential filmmakers in the faith-based genre in the process. With Season 5 likely to release early next year, the end is not that far off for the show that stars Jonathan Roumie in the role of the Savior, so Jenkins is turning his attention to what comes next.
Over the weekend in Orlando, Florida at a fan event called ChosenCon, the committed Christian launched a new independent production company - 5&2 Studios - and announced a raft of projects. Perhaps the biggest news for viewers of The Chosen is that there will be a "next chapter," as a press release puts it, called Acts of the Apostles and based on that book of the Bible. It is currently in development, so there is not much additional information, including whether it will be a series or a movie, for instance.
There will also be something specifically geared for the little ones: a 14-episode animated series called The Chosen Adventures (here is a trailer). Set in the Galilean town of Capernaum in A.D. 30, It follows a 9-year-old girl named Abby, who is "bursting at the seams with questions and feels she doesn't have the kinds of answers she's looking for." That all changes when she meets Jesus, whose voice in this series is provided by the aforementioned Roumie; several other stars from The Chosen will also voice their animated characters.
Jenkins, a 49-year-old husband and father, will be the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the new studio. He believes it will allow him and his partners from The Chosen to meet the demand for "more great stories from the Bible."
"Nearly every time I encounter a viewer, they say something about wanting more Bible content from us. I always say we need to not get ahead of ourselves and remain focused, but now we've got a robust enough team to expand our efforts."
Other projects on tap from 5&2 Studios include a three-season series about Moses - still in development - and a reality television show with British outdoorsman Bear Grylls. That program - The Chosen in the Wild with Bear Grylls - is to be an unscripted, six-episode series that will feature Grylls "venturing into the wild with one cast member" from The Chosen each installment in order to get their personal story and their perspective on the hit show about Jesus.
That is not all Jenkins is working on either. As we have previously reported, he is the director of a Yuletide movie coming out this holiday season called The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. It releases in theaters November 9th and you can get a better feel for what to expect from the trailer below.