Hundreds of Fans Help THE CHOSEN Film Jesus’ Arrival to Jerusalem
By Movieguide® Contributor
Dallas Jenkins, the writer, creator and director of THE CHOSEN, enlisted fans to help film a scene for Season 5 as he continues to push the boundaries of the Bible-based series and bring viewers the best experience possible.
Jenkins needed many extras to film the scene when Jesus makes his entry into Jerusalem on the first day of Holy Week.
“Palm Sunday will never be the same for any of us. This is one of the most beautiful moments of my life,” he said in a recap video on YouTube.
600 fans joined the cast and crew for three weeks to film the scene.
“Walking into Jerusalem was so much grander than I envisioned,” Elizabeth Tabish, who plays Mary Magdalene, said.
Austin Reed Alleman, who plays Nathaniel, added, “The fans are so excited to be here. They are so specific with where they’re standing, what they’re saying, everything like that. It’s been wonderful. It’s the best way to spend the first week.”
Fans from all over the world traveled to be part of the special moment.
“The very first episode touched my heart,” a fan who came for the scene described. “It was a time in my life where I was thinking that maybe I’m not that important to God, but when Jesus spoke to Mary at the very end of that first episode of Season 1, I wept because it was God speaking to me directly, saying, ‘You’re mine. You’ll always be mine.'”
Season 5 began filming on April 11. “We are officially commencing day one of 68 days of filming here in beautiful Utah. The set is behind me, we have done our first rehearsal, and we are about to get going,” Jenkins said in a post that day.
The upcoming season will focus solely on Holy Week.
“The response to Season 4 has been overwhelming so far, which provides a nice lift for us as we head into filming,” Jenkins told Variety. “Of course, we’re about to try to portray the most famous week in the history of humans, so the euphoria from the previous season never lasts long. The entire Season 6 will cover one day, so covering one week in Season 5 feels luxurious.”
THE CHOSEN hopes to find an even bigger audience on Disney+. Movieguide® recently reported:
Seasons 1-3 of THE CHOSEN have found a new home on Disney+.
“Disney+ is the latest platform to stream the series. Fans of the Bible show can find episodes on other streaming sites, like Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, the Angel app, BYUtv, and The Chosen app,” Faithwire reported.
Inside the Magic reported on the platform’s addition and referred to it as a “partnership” between THE CHOSEN and Disney.
THE CHOSEN Director Dallas Jenkins clarified on his socials: “Not exactly a ‘partnership,’ but Seasons 1-3 are getting to another new audience.”
The Biblical series “might…be a tremendous win for Disney’s image,” Inside the Magic said. With Disney’s recent Hulu merge, “Disney+ subscribers can also find a large selection of controversial media, such as AMERICAN HORROR STORY, LAW AND ORDER: SVU, and RICK AND MORTY. The decision to include THE CHOSEN amongst these titles might help win some more conservative subscribers back toward the mouse.”
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