It looks like there may be a parting of the proverbial Red Sea for white-washed biblical films with the news of an upcoming release. A few days ago, IndieWire’s Shadow and Act blog broke news about “Revival: The Experience” a musical retelling of the gospel of John, and by the trailer alone it looks glorious.
The film stars Grammy nominee and subversive gospel artist Mali Music as Jesus, the one and only Chaka Khan as Herodias, Destiny’s Child’s gospel sister Michelle Williams as Mary Magdalene, acting veteran Obba Babatunde as Nicodemus, and consistently chin-dimpled Harry Lennix as Pontius Pilate just to name a few of the all-star cast. As I mentioned earlier this is a musical retelling and it looks like everyone will be either singing or dancing, including Jesus. Yes, Jesus is not only going to weep but he will sing, and if you are familiar with Mali Music you know that Jesus is going to sing exceedingly and abundantly well.
According to the film’s IMDB page, it is a hybrid of every film idiom including Broadway musical, Hollywood musical, animation, green screen technology and sound stage. It sounds like a lot but let’s hope that they edit it flawlessly in the post-production process. Here’s a look at the first trailer for the film.
Are you ready for “Revival”?
The film is slated for a 2015 release.