There's no doubt that Roma Downey and Mark Burnett’s surprisingly controversial series The Bible is a hit. But now the a big-screen cut of the History Channel's runaway hit miniseries The Bible is set to transform the ten hour series into a three-hour movie, executive producer Mark Burnett told The Hollywood Reporter this week.
'We're cutting a movie version right now, a three-hour version of Jesus, and we have many, many offers from theaters globally,' Burnett said adding that the movie adaptation will largely focus on the resurrection story.
According to the Huffington Post Burnett is aiming for a fall release, but he also revealed there's more Bible material on the horizon.
'It's never actually stopped, but I do have scripts in my bag that I just received today for what's next,' Burnett said.
Downey appeared alongside her husband on Oprah's Next Chapter last month where the couple discussed the unintended resemblance between President Obama and the actor who played Satan.
‘The night before that broke in the news, Jesus had made his first appearance on the screen and I was so looking forward to Monday and knowing that Jesus would be on the lips of everyone,’ Downey told Oprah. ‘For Satan to be the point of conversation was really heartbreaking,’ she added.
The big screen version of the TV series seems destined to become a smash. The Bible pulled in a whopping 13.1 million viewers on the night of its premiere, becoming the most-watched entertainment telecast of 2013.
By the time the miniseries wrapped up on Easter Sunday, it was still pulling a very respectable 11.7 million viewers.
The success didn't stop there. The Bible went on to become the highest-selling miniseries ever during its first week of release, as well as the fastest-selling TV release on home video over the past five years.
Burnett's film version will almost certainly be a box office success, since it's already established and has a legion of fans.
Burnett says he was confident all along that the mini would be a success, crediting God as a vital force. 'It's a God voice. It's clearly a calling; clearly, we felt it was something we had to do, and too many things happened to explain it any other way. It's a juggernaut, and it's not going to slow down.'
The History Channel used Bible as a lead-in for its first original scripted drama, Vikings, which already has been renewed for a second season.
Meanwhile the Bible is already the fastest-selling DVD for a miniseries ever.
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