by Sara Garstka
“I know it’s hard,” Jesus (played by Jonathan Roumie) says in a voiceover for “The Chosen’s” Season 4 teaser. “Man makes it much harder when he leans on his own understanding.”
The smash hit’s fourth season premieres in theaters on Feb. 1, 2024, producers announced Monday. The rollout will begin in the U.S. and Canada with a two-week run of episodes 1-3 on Feb. 1, followed by episodes 4-6 beginning Feb. 15, and Episodes 7-8 beginning Feb. 29, according to a news release.
In Season 4, Jesus continues his public ministry in the critically-acclaimed interpretation of the Gospels.
Roumie has described his experience playing Jesus “as something of a reconversion,” according to an interview on the official “The Chosen” website. “You can’t have that level of intimacy with God and not be changed by it.”
He said his work is guided by his faith. “I’m trying to empty myself of everything that is ‘me,’ in service to being open as a channel for the Spirit to come and work through me,” Roumie said.
The Season 4 trailer, released on YouTube Monday, teases where the show will pick up after what the news release called Jesus’ “emotional walking on water finale” that closed out Season 3. Fans can expect continued heartwarming and heart-wrenching narratives as the epic story of Jesus continues. The trailer suggests that this season will include Jesus’ crucifixion and the discovery that he has risen from the tomb.
“I believe Jesus would have experienced the completeness of the emotional spectrum on an exponential level to an ordinary human,” Roumie said in an interview with the New York Times. “The fullness of suffering, the fullness of joy, the fullness of happiness, the fullness of pain.”
Roumie graduated from the School of Visual Arts in New York with a degree in filmmaking. He uses method acting in “The Chosen,” a style in which the actor strives to completely embody his character’s emotional experience.
The “global sensation” series is “on pace to be the most translated series in history, as the first three seasons will soon be available in 50 languages with plans to subtitle in more than 600,” according to the news release.
Much like the work of films that bring novels to life on the big screen, Angel Studios and the donations of its crowd funders have brought the Gospels to life for audiences, making the stories of the Son of God visually accessible to believers as well as those distant to the Christian faith.
Dallas Jenkins, whom The Daily Signal interviewed earlier this year, is the writer, director, and one of the producers of the series.
The producers’ work in creating historically accurate and engaging episodes is illuminated by cultural and historical context and artistic imagination, in addition to the Catholic, Evangelical Christian, and Messianic Jewish traditions, Jenkins told The Daily Signal.
Seasons 1-3 are available to stream free on “The Chosen’s” website and app.
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Sara Garstka is a member of the Young Leaders Program at The Heritage Foundation.
Photo “The Chosen Trailer” by The Chosen.
