The director behind one of 2023's box-office hits is back with a new movie, this time keeping one of the big stars a secret.
Alejandro Monteverde directed the surprise smash, Sound of Freedom, and will helm a new movie called Bethlehem.
While Sound of Freedom told the story of Tim Ballard, an antitrafficking agent, the new movie is set in Biblical times and stars some A-list talent.
Bethlehem is the saga of a young woman, Mary, who will do anything to protect her newborn son from the murderous King Herod, who is obsessed with finding and killing the child.
Angel Studios, which also produced Sound of Freedom, described the movie as telling the tale of Herod's slaughter of the innocents in Bethlehem but reimagined as a profound spiritual thriller.
The film has cast Sam Worthington (Avatar) as Herod's son Antipater; Emmy-award winner Ben Mendelsohn (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) will play the devil Nahash; and Golden Globe-winner Gael García Bernal (Mozart in the Jungle) stars as Joachim. Newcomer Deva Cassel will play the role of Mary.
But Monteverde and Angel Studios have decided to keep the identity of the actor playing Herod under wraps because "the actor is virtually unrecognizable in the role."
"When I first met Alejandro and experienced his passion for filmmaking, I felt like I had just encountered the next Frank Capra [the director of It's a Wonderful Life]," said Jordan Harmon, president of Angel Studios, in an emailed statement to Newsweek. "His approach to sharing stories is always unique, accessible, and powerful. I am thrilled to experience firsthand how he is bringing the story of Bethlehem to life."
Bethlehem is Monteverde's second follow-up after Sound of Freedom became one of the highest-grossing independent movies of all time. Earlier this year, Angel Studios released his movie Cabrini, which told the story of the first U.S. citizen to be canonized a saint by the Vatican, Frances Xavier Cabrini.
Sound of Freedom defied box-office expectations last year not only as a relatively unknown independent movie with Christian undertones, but also because it was released on the competitive date of July 4. But it quickly raked in the big bucks and even managed to outperform mega-franchises, Mission: Impossible—Dead Reckoning Part One and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.
It was largely due to an innovative grassroots campaign that Angel Studios was able to fundraise the millions of dollars needed to distribute and market the film globally.
Angel Studios also innovated a "pay it forward" system where people who watched the movie at the cinema could purchase tickets online for others as a means to promote the film's message that "God's children are not for sale." It was also designed to provide tickets for those who could not afford to buy their own, and the method helped bolster box-office returns.
"The campaign to promote the film has been very innovative and succeeded in making an emotional connection with audiences," said Alexander Ross in an interview with Newsweek in September last year. Ross is the author of The Evolution of Hollywood's Calculated Blockbuster Films: Blockbusted.
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