The director-producer tandem who made such hits as War Room and Courageous say they're filming another movie this year.
Alex and Stephen Kendrick announced this week that the movie will be filmed this summer and released across North America on Aug. 23 in a continuation of their partnership with Provident Films and Affirm Films. The title and theme of the film have not been announced.
It will be the ninth movie from the Kendricks, who blazed the faith-based trail for Christian movies more than 15 years ago with Facing the Giants and followed it with Fireproof, Courageous, War Room, Overcomer, Show Me the Father and Lifemark. Their first film was Flywheel. War Room (2015) was the No. 1 movie at the box office in its second weekend of release.
Stephen Kendrick told Christian Headlines that God "gets the glory" for their movies' successes.
"We never want to run ahead of God or feel like, 'Hey, God, we got it here.' We know the secret sauce of any kind of spiritual impact is going to be Him and His Word and His Holy Spirit – it's not going to be us," Kendrick told Christian Headlines. "We're the mailman trying to do our best with what we have and what we know to deliver the mail. We commit it to Him. And we just trust Him with the results."
Kendrick said he and his brother have sought to make improvements with each new project.
"We're very critical, even of our own films," he said. "And when we go back and watch them, we will say, 'Oh, man, we should have edited that differently or shot that differently.'
Even with a film's technical shortcomings, though, God still uses it, Stephen Kendrick added. For example, the budget for Facing the Giants (2006) was $100,000, yet it grossed more than $10 million at the box office.
"God's hand is on Flywheel," he said. "God's hand is on War Room. I cannot deny that He led us in that direction, and He blessed our loaves and fish – and His Spirit, His favor is on this."
Rich Peluso, executive vice president of Affirm Films, said audiences will be inspired by the Kendricks' next film.
"When we got the call, the Kendrick Brothers were ready to share their next story idea, we knew it would be a powerful one – and they delivered," Peluso said. "We're honored to partner with them again on another film that will entertain, challenge and lift up families in a time when so many people need encouragement and renewed hope."
Photo courtesy: ©Affirm Films, used with permission.
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.