“They are using some virtual reality in the pre-production process, in some of the design and modeling that they’re doing,” he said of the animators in an interview at the museum before the start of the event. “Because they’re doing it in that way, that’s producing some assets for us that we can apply beyond just making a movie.”
A temple “concept image” from the forthcoming animated version of the classic “Jesus.” (Image courtesy Jesus Film Project)
The producers are hoping to create ancillary footage for use in immersive digital experiences. Users of virtual reality goggles, for instance, might follow Jesus along the Via Dolorosa as he approaches Calvary or travel the rocky trip on the Sea of Galilee where the Bible says Jesus calmed the waters.
Bill Bright, the late founder of Cru, previously known as Campus Crusade for Christ, asked Eshleman after the original film debuted in U.S. theaters in 1979 to translate and dub it into dozens of languages. Eventually the ministry, first known for its work on college campuses, crossed the 2,000 mark in 2022.
Asked what Bright, who died in 2003, might think of the new version of the film he debuted 44 years ago, Newell said he believes the founder would approve.
“He would love it because he was so creative,” said Newell, who joined Cru’s staff 25 years ago when Bright was nearing the end of his leadership. “Anything that we can do to kind of continue that trajectory of reaching younger people and giving them the opportunity to share about Jesus themselves and make an impact and an influence, he’s all over that.”
This article originally appeared here.
