Nicolas Cage has once again baffled and excited film fans with the trailer for his latest movie – a horror film about Jesus.
Cage, 61, plays Biblical figure Joseph in The Carpenter's Son, an upcoming reimagining of The Infancy Gospel of Thomas, an apocryphal gospel about the childhood of the religious figure.
“What awaits us when we turn at last to death?” Cage says in the brief preview of the movie. “Let my faith endure,” he adds as disturbing images, including a crucifixion, fill the screen. “Faith. My only strength to bear against the devil itself.”
Elsewhere, Cage says that his son, known as The Boy, “bears a power I cannot understand. A power I cannot contain”.
The trailer has piqued fans curiosity about what a Biblical horror film will be like, with Cage, known for his eccentric performances, only adding to the intrigue.
“I love writers who take risks with stories,” wrote one person. “It will probably be a bad movie, but I’ll watch it anyway just to see how they tackle something as bold as telling the story of Jesus’s teen years. It’s such a brilliant idea.”
“Ok, maybe I’m a bad Christian, but I think a sort of body horror introspective of Jesus (and Joseph) grappling with his extraordinary life-giving and healing powers, plus being tempted by Satan, is extremely interesting and could be very thought provoking,” added another eager film fan.
“Seated, can’t wait for the discourse,” wrote a third viewer, noting that the film might cause some controversy.
“Nicolas Cage as Jesus’ stepdad is not on my 2025 bingo card,” joked a fourth.
Young British actor Noah Jupe, 20, plays Jesus in the film, while singer-songwriter FKA Twigs, 37, will play his mother Mary. Fellow British star Isla Johnston, 18, will play the film’s antagonist, mysteriously called The Stranger.
The film has been directed by Lofty Nathan, an Egyptian-born British-American filmmaker, whose previous works include 12 O’Clock Boys (2013) and Harka (2022).
Unconventional Biblical films have previously been met with protests, most notably Martin Scorsese’s The Last Temptation of Christ. Willem Dafoe plays Jesus in the 1988 drama which ends with Christ coming down from the cross and being tempted by Satan.
It depicts Jesus as having a yearning for family life and having sexual interests, and was met with much controversy when it was released, especially from the Church.
“It’s just strange, in a world of slasher films and porn, that people got so upset about this, because it’s based on a novel and, broadly speaking, they’re changing the classic story a little bit to consider the character of Jesus in a different way, that’s all,” said Dafoe earlier this year.
“It’s not this plot to overthrow or change religious thought. It’s a consideration, another way of looking at the human aspect of Jesus, as opposed to the divine part.”
The Carpenter’s Son will be released in cinemas on November 14.
