End-Times Christian Movie Series ‘Left Behind’ Set for Hollywood Reboot (& Starring Nicolas Cage?)

by Billy Hallowell

Move over Kirk Cameron. Actor Nicolas Cage is reportedly in talks to star in a reworked and rebooted version of “Left Behind,” the film series based on the Biblical account of the Rapture. With a proposed budget of $15 million, those behind the revamped film effort are looking to go more mainstream than the original series, which was predominately popular among Christians.

While the “Left Behind” series is getting a major face-lift, the team behind the older films is, at least to a degree, intact. Writer, producer and Cloud Ten Pictures founder Paul Lalonde worked on the original series and he’s once again leading the latest effort. Script consultant John Patus, one of the many individuals who worked on “Left Behind: World at War,” the third movie in the series, is also involved in the new project.

The Hollywood Reporter has more about some of the other Hollywood heavyweights getting behind the project:

Legendary stunt coordinator and second-unit director Vic Armstrong is making a very rare jump into the director’s chair for the rebooted Left Behind movie. [...]

Paul Lalonde, who was one of the producers of the original, independently made series that starred Kirk Cameron, is producing the action thriller with Michael Walker. Jay David Williams of Family Screen Partners is exec producing.

Some may wonder how the Christian market will react to a more mainstream actor starring in the film — one who isn’t known for having an overt faith allegiance. Naturally, reaction to these developments is yet to be seen.

While the reboot will follow what the Hollywood Reporter calls “a classic disaster film” format, the essential tenets of end-times theology will still be present. In fact, the film will remain Christian at its core, with the plot, once again, focusing on the survivors living in the hours after the Biblical Rapture.

Cameron starred in the original series, which launched in 2001, with “World at War” completing the series back in 2005. The first three films were adapted from Tim LaHaye’s and Jerry Jenkins’ popular “Left Behind” book series, which sold tens of millions of copies across the globe.

Shooting is currently scheduled to begin in spring 2013 in Baton Rouge, La. According to Variety, “Lalonde [claims] that there is a theatrical guarantee in place from distributor Samuel Goldwyn Films.”

A scene from the first “Left Behind” film