Portuguese actor Diogo Morgado became somewhat of an overnight sensation after his portrayal of Jesus in the History Channel hit miniseries The Bible , now he has been cast in the same role in Son of God .
The film from the same producers as the miniseries — husband and wife Mark Burnett and Roma Downey — took many of the same stars from the original to star in the new film.
The Bible was such a massive success that Burnett and Downey quickly decided to tell the story in a movie format and cast Mogrado in the role of Jesus once again.
Son of God will focus on the life of Jesus, using scenes from the miniseries, but also new footage.
When The Bible premiered March 3, 2013 it essentially beat all the shows airing on major networks and the last espisode tied in ratings with a new episode of AMC’s high-rated series The Walking Dead .
As reported by The Inquisitr on Tuesday the producers have decided to scrap Satan from Son of God , after the casting of actor Mohamen Mehdi Ouzaani drew comparisons to President Obama because of their uncanny resemblance.
At the time, there was controversy when some accused the series of purposely casting Ouzaani as the devil, which Burnett and Downey called “utter nonsense.”
Speaking of their decision Downey told The Hollywood Reporter :
“It gives me great pleasure to tell you that the devil is on the cutting-room floor (…) This is now a movie about Jesus, the son of God, and the devil gets no more screen time.”
For actor Diogo Morgado , to play Jesus in the miniseries and now Son of God is a big responsibility and he is trying to make it an educational moment for kids:
“I saw this father and a young kid, they were praying (at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem). And I stood for like two hours there. By the time I left, they were still praying. And I realized whatever I was about to do would be connecting more with that kid than his father. We live in a visual world now. Kids can learn a lot by seeing things rather than reading it. So I really understood the responsibility.”
Mogrado told Good Morning America he is trying to create a more “approachable” Jesus and is using this opportunity to reach those who may not necessarily know who the Son of God was and why the Bible is “the most important book.”
Son of God — which opens February 28 — is one of a few Biblical themed movies to open in theaters. On March 28 Noah , starring Russell Crowe opens and in December viewers will get to experience Exodus with Christian Bale portraying Moses.