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Ever since “The Chosen,” faith-based properties are not to be trifled with. Amazon and other streamers are putting big money and production values behind the most epic of Biblical stories, and the fruits of that labor are finally paying off.
Amazon on Tuesday, January 28 released the first trailer for the series “House of David,” a sweeping Biblical saga about David vs. Goliath from director Jon Erwin, who made box office bank with faith-based hits “I Can Only Imagine” and “Jesus Revolution.” “House of David” is the first project as part of a partnership announced in Jan. 2024 between Amazon Prime Video and Erwin’s new company The Wonder Project to produce projects for a faith-forward audience.
“House of David” has the scope and ambition of something like “Game of Thrones” or Prime Video’s own “Lord of the Rings” series “The Rings of Power.” It shows David, the future King of Israel, brandishing the one stone in his slingshot that can slay the giant Goliath and point the kingdom back in the direction of God. But the series covers David’s origin story and how he finds his faith.
Michael Iskander (Tony-winning musical “Kimberly Akimbo”) stars as David, with Iskander being cast after a four-month, international casting search. It also stars Ali Suliman as King Saul, Ayelet Zurer as Saul’s trusted wife Queen Ahinoam, Stephen Lang as Samuel, and Martyn Ford as Goliath.
Erwin directed and wrote “House of David” alongside Jon Gunn (“Ordinary Angels”) and the series is based on an idea by Erwin — also the Bible. Dallas Jenkins, the creator and producer-director of “The Chosen,” is a shareholder and special advisor to Wonder Project.
Erwin previously told IndieWire while he was in production on the show that the idea of the “faith-based” genre needs a bit of a rebrand to instead just be “inspirational.” His company’s vision is to create a “values-based ecosystem,” with “content that restores faith and advances things that are worth believing in,” and his goal is that Wonder Project can become synonymous with inspirational content in the way Blumhouse is with the horror genre.
“This is an audience that’s unseen and underserved, and we can infuse those values in all kinds of content and all kinds of genre,” Erwin said. “There’s a lot of content that uplifts and inspires and restores faith in things that are worth believing in.”
“House of David” debuts on Amazon Prime Video on February 27. Watch the first trailer below.
English (US) ·