Award-winning actors Oscar Isaac and Forest Whitaker have signed on to join the voice cast of Mofac Animation’s upcoming animated fantasy film The King of Kings, inspired by Charles Dicken’s little known short story about the life and times of Jesus.
Isaac will be voicing Jesus Christ, while Whitaker is taking on the role of Peter the Apostle. This won’t be the Moon Knight actor’s first faith-based movie, as he previously starred as Jesus’ father Joseph in 2006’s biblical drama The Nativity Story. Isaac and Whitaker will be joining previously announced cast members Kenneth Branagh (Belfast) as Charles Dickens, Uma Thurman (Pulp Fiction) as Catherine Dickens and Roman Griffin Davis (Jojo Rabbit) as Walter Dickens.
“A film capturing the epic life of Jesus Christ warrants a stellar cast, and our actors announced to date – Oscar Isaac, Forest Whitaker, Kenneth Branagh, Uma Thurman and Roman Griffin Davis – is impressive by any measure,” producer Anfernee Kim said in a statement. “Oscar perfectly captures the impactful delivery of Jesus, and Forest’s vocal performance expertly embodies the complicated aspects of Peter.”
What to Expect from The King of Kings?
The King of Kings is being directed by South Korean filmmaker Seong-ho “Jay” Jang from a screenplay he co-wrote with Treasure Planet’s Robert Edwards. The project is currently in its final stages of production at Mofac Animation. It is executive produced by Jamie Thomason and Andrew Mann, with Kim set as the producer. At the moment, the film still doesn’t have a distributor yet.
“In the film, Charles and Walter Dickens embark on a multi-dimensional adventure as the master storyteller engages his youngest son’s vivid imagination with the fascinating life of Jesus, his well-known trials and tribulations, and his notable colleagues and foes,” reads the official synopsis. “The film’s rich animation allows the Dickens pair (and the family cat Willa) to become intrinsically immersed in the ancient tale, interacting with Jesus, his disciples and his detractors – while the seasoned actors behind the voices bring these well-known characters to animated life like never before. The result is an animated film that makes the biblical journey easily relatable, readily understood and captivatingly entertaining for families and, especially, to children of all ages.”
