In this month's roundup of faith & family entertainment news: the Erwin Brothers tell a Navy SEAL's story; GAC Family rebrands; Amazon releases a new LOTR trailer; and Marvel's Catholic superhero Daredevil returns in a new series.
A SEAL's Tale of Overcoming
Kingdom Story Company, a division of Lionsgate run by Andrew and Jon Erwin, has acquired the rights to Eric Blehm's 2012 book Fearless, a biography of SEAL Team 6 member Adam Brown.
Jason Hall (American Sniper, Gran Turismo) will write the screenplay, with Andrew Erwin directing. Producers are Kevin Downes, Andrew Erwin, Mark Ciardi and Jon Erwin.
The Erwins are known for their Christian-themed stories, including I Can Only Imagine, I Still Believe and American Underdog.
Fearless fits into that category, as Brown's conversion to Christianity helped him overcome addiction and a criminal past to become a Navy SEAL and go on missions, including to Afghanistan.
Say Hello to Great American Family
Former Hallmark Channel head Bill Abbott continues his mission to create an alternative to his old home, refining the names of the cluster of offerings under his GAC Media banner.
In 2021, Abbot and his partners bought Great American Country and RideTV, renaming them GAC Family and GAC living, respectively.
GAC Family then established itself as a home for the sort of wholesome shows, rom-coms and holiday movies Abbott did at Hallmark, many featuring former Hallmark stars.
GAC Living has offered unscripted programming in the same vein.
Now, on Saturday, Aug. 20, GAC Family becomes Great American Family.
That same night, the channel starts Saturday-night premiere movies -- running from Aug. 20 to Oct. 21 -- with Retreat to Paradise, a romantic comedy starring Melanie Stone, Casey Elliott and Brian Krause.
Then, on Oct. 28, Great American Family brings back its Great American Christmas programming event.
But, there's more. From NextTV.com:
Abbott, CEO of GAC Media, also said cable channel GAC Living will become Great American Living. The company also has the free ad-supported streaming TV channel known as Great American Adventures and the upcoming direct-to-consumer app Great American Community.
The four outlets will be part of GAC Media’s new Great American Media master brand. GAC Media will remain the company’s legal name.
A New Look at Amazon's 'Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power'
At the recent San Diego Comic-Con, Amazon Studios released a new trailer for its LOTR prequel series, launching in September on Prime Video.
And, here it is:
There's a lot in there, but ScreenRant.com was kind enough to do a deep dive.
From the post:
Striking a deal with J.R.R. Tolkien's estate, Amazon's search for its next Prime Video fantasy franchise ended in Middle-earth, as Jeff Bezos snapped up the live-action adaptation rights for Lord of the Rings' Second Age - an era set over 3,000 years before Bilbo Baggins spots a golden ring innocently lying in a cave and asks himself, "What's the worst that can happen?"
Scheduled to premiere in September 2022, The Rings of Power features familiar faces such as Galadriel, Elrond and Sauron, but will blend elements from Tolkien lore (many of which are recounted in The Silmarillion) alongside brand-new tales crafted especially for screen.
As a result, decoding Amazon's The Rings of Power SDCC 2022 trailer is a thankless task, and rifling through pages of Tolkien's original text for reference material can still leave one feeling like a fool of a Took.
Click here to read the whole thing.
Daredevil Is Coming Back, But Will He Still Be Catholic?
The answer is, we don't know yet.
Blind Catholic NYC lawyer Matt Murdock, aka crime-fighting vigilante Daredevil, made a recent guest appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe feature film Spider-Man: No Way Home.
He's slated to also pop up in the upcoming MCU series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, on Disney+.
But fans of the prematurely canceled Netflix Daredevil series are finally getting their wish, with a new 18-episode series on Disney+ called Daredevil: Born Again, set to premiere in Spring 2024.
The character's Catholicism, and how it conflicts with his violent alter ego, was a central feature of the Netflix show, as it was in the comics.
At this point, all we know about the series is that Charlie Cox (who's a baptized Catholic himself) is returning as Murdock/Daredevil, and that his nemesis, Kingpin (Vincent D'Onofrio), will also be back.
The title Daredevil: Born Again hints at a religious element, but only time will tell if new writers/executive producers Matt Corman and Chris Ord will keep the Faith.
Image: Amazon Studios
Kate O’Hare, a longtime entertainment journalist, is Social Media Content Manager at Family Theater Productions.
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