Dallas Jenkins is always coming up with new ways to promote The Chosen in ways that are unconventional, like showing entire seasons of the show in theaters before debuting on streaming services. For the upcoming Season 5, Jenkins approached photographer Annie Leibovitz to create the key art for three posters for The Chosen: Last Supper.
Leibovitz, whose past work has included photos of celebrities portraying different Disney characters for their “Year of a Million Dreams” promotion from 2007-2014, has a knack for storytelling. Not surprisingly, she captured the essence of the three parts with portraits that center the cast around tables.
“When she agreed to do it, we knew that it was going to elevate the show and bring something to it with her portraits that we can’t do,” said Jenkins regarding Leibovitz and her photography.
The feeling appears to be mutual. In a statement, Leibovitz said, “I admire what Dallas Jenkins is doing so much… He is the artist of our time doing the Bible.”
“What makes [Annie’s] work so extraordinary is she tells stories — in seconds — and then you look deeper and you find more,” says Jenkins. “And we’re trying to tell stories of some of the most iconic people who ever lived. They actually lived and breathed and had fears and doubts and felt things like joy and betrayal. So, in a season like this, where you see all of those things, it felt like the season that was in need of someone most like her to communicate that photographically.”
Last Thursday, Jenkins and Jonathan Roumie (who plays Jesus) along with actors Elizabeth Tabish, George H. Xanthis, Abe Bueno-Jallad, Austin Reed Alleman, and other cast members – gathered around Times Square in New York last week as the advertisements were displayed.
Jenkins told CBN that he was doubtful that Leibovitz would be interested in creating the artwork for a show that the probably hadn’t even seen. As it turns out, she has been viewing the series at the recommendation of a crew member.
“She became obsessed with it and became a huge, huge fan,” Jenkins explained. “She’s been wanting to do something related to the Bible for a decade. Nothing came along and nothing made sense to her. And then this came along and she thought, ‘I have to do it.’”
In another unconventional promotion, The Chosen: Season 5 will have its own red-carpet premiere with producers and the show’s cast at B&B Theatres Red Oak 12 in Dallas on March 20. Then, all eight episodes will be shown in theaters in the U.S. and Canada in three parts through Fathom Entertainment. Part One (featuring episodes 1 and 2) will open on March 28. Part Two (episodes 3-5) on April 4 and Part Three (episodes 6-8) on April 11. Once released, all three parts will remain in theaters for the duration of the four-week theatrical run ahead of Easter. (The entire season will also stream on The Chosen app at a later date.)
The Chosen: Last Supper Part One will also roll out theatrically in over 40 global territories across Europe, Asia and Africa (including red-carpet premiere events in Brazil, Spain and Mexico) beginning on April 10 through Trafalgar Releasing.
5&2 Studios describes The Chosen: Last Supper as: “The table is set. The people of Israel welcome Jesus as king while his disciples anticipate his crowning. But—instead of confronting Rome—he turns the tables on the Jewish religious festival. Their power threatened, the country’s religious and political leaders will go to any length to ensure this Passover meal is Jesus’ last.”
Images: 5&2 Studios and Wikipedia (Annie Leibovitz)
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