Golden Globe winner Oscar Isaac is taking on the role of Jesus Christ alongside Academy Award winner Forrest Whitaker as Peter the Apostle in Mofac Animation’s upcoming The King of Kings. The CG-animated family film is inspired by a little-known short story by Charles Dickens depicting the life and times of Jesus.
Isaac and Whitaker join the growing roster of voices for the faith-based movie, which already includes Academy Award winner Kenneth Branagh (Belfast, My Week with Marilyn) as Charles Dickens, Oscar nominee Uma Thurman (Pulp Fiction, Hysterical Blindness) as Catherine Dickens and Golden Globe nominee Roman Griffin Davis (Jojo Rabbit) as Walter Dickens.
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. 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.
“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,” says producer Anfernee Kim. “Oscar perfectly captures the impactful delivery of Jesus, and Forest’s vocal performance expertly embodies the complicated aspects of Peter.”
Actor, producer and musician Isaac earned a Golden Globe Award for his role on the HBO miniseries Show Me a Hero, and an Independent Spirit Award and Golden Globe nomination for his work in the Coen Brothers’ film Inside Llewyn Davis. He was nominated for a 2022 SAG and Emmy Award for his role in the HBO limited series Scenes from a Marriage. Additional film and television credits include A Most Violent Year, Ex Machina, Operation Finale, At Eternity’s Gate, The Card Counter, Dune and Moon Knight. Isaac is also known for playing Poe Dameron in a trio of Star Wars films — The Force Awakens (2015), The Last Jedi (2017) and The Rise of Skywalker (2019) — and all accompanying entertainment, from video games and LEGO specials to read-along storybooks and theme park rides.
In 2019, Isaac and his wife, writer and director Elvira Lind, created their Mad Gene Media production company. Their first project, The Letter Room — a short film written and directed by Lind and starring Isaac — received a nomination at the 2021 Academy Awards. Next up, Isaac will star in and produce — under his Mad Gene banner — the crime thriller In the Hand of Dante, directed by Oscar-nominated Julian Schnabel and executive produced by Martin Scorsese. Additionally, Isaac is set to star in Guillermo Del Toro’s Netflix adaptation of Frankenstein as Victor Frankenstein, alongside Jacob Elordi and Mia Goth.
Whitaker earned an Academy Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role portraying Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland (2007), a role which also brought home a BAFTA, Critics Choice Award, Golden Globe, the National Board of Review and a SAG Award, amongst many more. He has also won an Emmy (for Door to Door, 2003) alongside two other Emmy nominations (ER, 2007; Brick City, 2010). Whitaker’s performance as the title character of Bird earned the Best Actor award at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival and a Golden Globe nomination. Among his producing credits is Fruitvale Station (2013), which was honored with the Producers Guild of America’s Stanley Kramer Award. Toplined by the Whitney Houston/Angela Bassett starrer Waiting to Exhale (1995) and Sandra Bullock’s Hope Floats (1995), Whitaker has also directed five films and a handful of music videos.
Whitaker’s television work includes series regular status in Godfather of Harlem, The Shield, ER and Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior, and his additional film credits include Arrival, The Butler, Phenomenon, The Crying Game, Good Morning, Vietnam, Platoon, The Color of Money and Fast Times at Ridgemont High. He entered the Star Wars universe as Saw Guerra in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and follow-ups in Andor, the animated series Star Wars: Rebels and Star Wars: Go Rogue, and the video game Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.
Whitaker was honored with a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2016.
The King of Kings is in its final stages of production at Mofac Animation, as well as in performance recordings from the United Kingdom to the Hawaiian Islands (and numerous locations in between).
The film is directed by Korean filmmaker and VFX pioneer Seong-ho “Jay” Jang (Joint Security Area, The Taste of Money, Last Knights). The film is co-written by Jang and Rob Edwards (Disney’s The Princess and the Frog and Treasure Planet). Emmy-winning dialog & casting director Jamie Thomason (Spirited Away, The Tigger Movie) and Andrew Mann (Imperium, Gold, Transfusion) serve as executive producers. Anfernee Kim (Last Knights, John Woo’s The Crossing 2) is the film’s producer.
Mofac Animation is currently seeking potential distributors for The King of Kings.
Win 'The Art of DreamWorks Dog Man'! 
