Updates on Upcoming Faith-Based Movies

There is news on more faith-based movies--particularly "Passion"-esque sequels--coming down the pike in the film industry. Though I've touched on several upcoming movies (here, here, and here), Josh Hurst from Christianity Today movies sums up the latest news quite nicely:

As successful as The Passion of The Christ was, it's not too surprising that a sequel would be in the pipeline, but who would have expected multiple sequels? With the FoxFaith film The Inquiry, Canadian film The Sword of Peter, and the Tim LaHaye-Screen Gems collaboration The Resurrection all picking up with biblical events that happened after Christ's Passion Week, still another film—Risen—was recently added to the number of unofficial Passion follow-ups.

Variety reports that Risen—subtitled The Story of the First Easter—is in development by Hyde Park Entertainment—the same folks who developed Bringing Down the House, Raising Helen, and Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story.

Reportedly, the film will focus on the Apostle Peter in retelling the story of what happened to the disciples between Christ's resurrection and the day of Pentecost.

Hyde Park's Ashok Amritaj says that the tumultuous state of the world makes this a prime time for faith-based films, also noting the "commercial marketplace and need for movies that have hope and values."

No release date or production schedule has been set, though a script is currently in the works.