“The Pilgrim’s Progress From This World, to That Which Is to Come,” written by English author and Puritan teacher John Bunyan in 1678, is generally considered to be the first novel written in English. Now, Christian filmmakers are turning it into a faith-based movie.
Bunyan was serving time in prison after he was accused conducting religious services without permission when he began his work, which is filled with Christian allegory. The book has been translated into more than 200 languages, and some theologians consider it to be the second-most read book about faith, after the Bible.
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The film version will be called “Heavenquest: A Pilgrim’s Progress.” It is being made by King Street Pictures, which tailors faith-inspired films to a global audience.
With “Heavenquest,” King Street’s third movie, the production company is hoping to break barriers for faith-based movies by earning a worldwide audience while proving that Christian moviegoers appreciate the fantasy genre, according to the The Hollywood Reporter.
“We’re trying to break new ground in the faith-based genre,” said director Matt Bilen. “It’s dirt-under-the-fingernails, action-packed, grittier, more stylistic and more cinematic than what audiences have seen previously.”
The book tells the story of Christian and his journey from the City of Destruction to the Celestial City
Attempts to turn the book into the movie were made in 1912, 1978 and 2008.
The movie has begun filming in Redding, California.
(H/T: The Hollywood Reporter)