By Shawn Smith
As the much-anticipated fifth season of THE CHOSEN hits theaters, creator Dallas Jenkins revealed how the series balances the epic scale of the portrayal of Holy Week while keeping with the intimate “CHOSEN-esque” style.
“We take these big, epic stories and we make them actually smaller and more personal,” Jenkins told Movieguide®’s Jeremy Carroll. “But this season, you’re forced to tell the story of the turning of the tables and the triumphal entry and last supper and the betrayal of Judas on a big palette.”
A scene between Jesus and Judas is an example of the juxtaposition of the “big” moments, such as the Holy Week, with what the director calls “CHOSEN-esque” moments.
“[A] personal conversation between Jesus and Judas not recorded in Scripture, perhaps didn’t happen, we don’t know for sure, but it’s capital ‘T’ truth, reflecting who these people are at this moment in time,” he explained. “[T]hat’s always our number one goal in this is to never let people get so distracted by the size of the story, that they miss out on the personal relationship that they can have with Jesus through these stories.”
Jenkins says that series has drawn nonbelievers because of their familiarity with the Bible’s stories such as the Triumphal Entry and Jesus turning the table in the temple.
“[W]e spend a lot of time with the nonbelievers, right? So, these are the people, the Romans, the police, the religious leaders, who don’t believe in Jesus,” he said.
It’s not just the audience that have been impacted but the people involved with the show as well.
“[A] lot of people on our cast and crew who weren’t believers, when they read these scripts, they said to me, ‘I’ve always loved the show, but this season, especially, I’ve felt really…connected…it’s supremely human, even in the midst of these big stories,” Jenkins recalled.
One surprising fan of THE CHOSEN that Jenkins recruited to do marketing photo shoots for the show was famous portrait photographer Annie Leibovitz.
“Shockingly, we found out she was a huge fan of the show and was herself honored to work with us,” he said.
Along with having a strong creative team, the Illinois native told Carroll that the main “operating principle” of creating scenes is showing Jesus’ humanity while not ignoring his divinity.
“It’s almost easier to paint a guy with a halo and to make him into this divine being that we can and have reverence for,” he said. “But when you’re trying to also showcase the humanity of him, it becomes more challenging and maybe even dangerous, because you want to make sure you’re not blasphemous.”
For instance, this season’s scene where Jesus drives out the money changers in the temple, the creators wanted to show the reason behind his anger without it becoming “theater” or “potentially cheesy.”
“It’s personal to him. This isn’t just someone who’s like, ‘Man, you guys are really doing things the wrong way, and that offends me,’” he went on to explain. “This is ‘You are corrupting something My Father built. My ancestors, they use their human hands to build something inspired by My Father, and you are corrupting it.’ And so it’s not only a spiritual thing, it’s a personal thing.”
THE CHOSEN: THE LAST SUPPER followed suit as the last two seasons and premiered in theaters March 28 through Fathom Entertainment.
This was an obvious choice for Fathom with the company making $72 million with the last two seasons and the presale tickets doubled that of Season 3 and 4, reported Variety.
“The production value is huge. The storytelling is beyond belief. And there’s people from all religions and sectors that come to see this — it’s not just Christian,” Fathom CEO Ray Nutt said.
Read Next: THE CHOSEN: LAST SUPPER – PART ONE
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