The Chosen One: Release date, cast, plot & more
NetflixHere’s everything we know about The Chosen One, the Netflix comic book adaptation, including its release date, any trailer updates, cast, plot, and more.
Mark Millar is a comic book writer who’s best known for Wanted, Kick-Ass, and Kingsman: The Secret Service – all of which have spawned incredible movies.
He rose to prominence working on DC’s The Authority, which is also getting the big-screen treatment in James Gunn’s rebooted universe, and has an extensive history with Marvel, writing the stories that directly inspired Captain America: Civil War and Logan.
Later this year, one of his earliest works is coming to Netflix in the form of The Chosen Son, an adaptation of his American Jesus book – here’s what we know so far.
Has The Chosen One release date been announced?
The Chosen One will premiere on Netflix on August 16, 2023.
The release date was announced on May 18, along with a new official poster, which you can check out below:
Millar recently shared the first poster for the show on Twitter, writing: “Coming soon: THE CHOSEN ONE, the @netflix adaptation of the American Jesus trilogy I created with artist & co-creator @PeterGrossArt. A little boy finds out he’s the new Jesus Christ & will grow up to face the Antichrist in The Apocalypse.”
In an interview with CBR in late 2022, Millar confirmed production had wrapped. “Shooting finished on the American Jesus adaptation a few weeks back, and I just watched the first cuts of the first two episodes,” he said.
“This is the next comic at Netflix and, like volume one of the book, It’s called The Chosen One, a magical tale about a twelve-year-old boy who finds out he’s the returned Jesus Christ, and his mother is hiding him out in a small rural community as the forces of darkness in the world are intent on destroying him. That’s looking really good.”
Production was briefly shut down after two actors (Raymundo Garduño Cruz and Juan Francisco González Aguilar) were killed and six others were injured in a car crash. The incident didn’t take place on set, with Variety reporting that it occurred as the crew were travelling to a local airport in Baja California.
The Chosen One cast: Who’s in it?
Two cast members have been confirmed for The Chosen One cast:
- Tenoch Huerta
- Dianna Argon
Huerta previously appeared in Netflix’s Narcos: Mexico, but he’s likely best known for playing Namor in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Argon famously portrayed Quinn in Glee. Other The Chosen One cast members have not been confirmed.
Everardo Gout and Leopoldo Gout are serving as co-showrunners on the series, with Gout set to also direct the show. Gout directed The Forever Purge, as well as episodes of Luke Cage and Snowpiercer, while Leopoldo was an executive producer on Netflix’s Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich and Zoo.
In an earlier behind-the-scenes look, Millar said fans should be excited “about the fact that I’m excited, because I’m the harshest judge of any adaptation… it looks unlike any comic book adaptation I’ve seen.”
The Chosen One plot: What’s it about?
The Chosen One is an adaptation of Millar’s American Jesus comic book, beginning with the first of three volumes, titled Chosen.
Netflix’s official synopsis reads: “Jodie, a twelve-year-old boy in Baja California, suddenly discovers he has Jesus-like powers: he can turn water into wine, make the crippled walk, and, perhaps, even raise the dead!
“As the Evangelical and the Yaquí leaders in town try to get him to use his powers to save mankind, all Jodie wants to do is impress the girl he likes and stand up to his bullies. As Jodie struggles and eventually comes to terms with his destiny, everything gets thrown for a loop when he discovers the truth around his identity.”
Speaking to MTV in 2012 when development first began on the adaptation – it was initially planned as a movie – Millar was asked if it falls into “horror or epic fantasy.”
“Unusually for me, it’s a little more quiet and a little more considered. The sequels are like that, too. Volume One, obviously, is the story of the Anti-Christ dressed up as the story of Jesus, but Volume Two is the story of Jesus. It’s set ten years later, he’s a little older,” he said.
“By this point, he’s about 17 – it’s 1993 – and he’s a young guy being raised on a religious reservation, a survivalist compound like WACO, out in the American Midwest. He’s been hidden from the forces of darkness because he’s got to be kept alive for the big confrontation with the Anti-Christ.
“So that’s the starting point of Volume Two – and Volume Three is these guys facing off against each other. It could quite easily be a 15 certificate. It would be easy to shoehorn something frightening into it, but it just doesn’t seem to lend itself to the story. The film is just a pretty straight story about Jesus and Satan.”
Has The Chosen One trailer been released?
No, there’s no trailer for The Chosen One right now, but you can check out an inside look at the Netflix show below:
Where to read American Jesus
Every volume of American Jesus, including The New Messiah follow-up series, is available to buy via Amazon Prime – you can sign up here.
That’s everything we know about The Chosen One. In the meantime, you can check out our other Netflix hubs below:
The Night Agent Season 2 | The Gentlemen | Will there be Firefly Lane Season 3? | Sex Education Season 4 | Beef Season 2 | Monster Season 2 | Will there be Ginny and Georgia Season 3? | Black Mirror Season 6 | All the Light We Cannot See | Stranger Things Season 5 | The Witcher Season 3 | Chicken Run 2 | Heartstopper Season 2 | FUBAR | Florida Man Season 2 | Obsession Season 2 | The Sandman Season 2
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