Zero A.D. gears up for a theatrical premiere this December as the cast list gets announced

Zero A.D., Angel Studios' latest release, is set to hit cinema halls this holiday season in December. This faith-based movie will follow the strenuous situations surrounding the birth of Jesus during the reign of King Herod. It will follow Jesus' mother, Virgin Mary, and her husband, Joseph's attempts to protect their newborn baby, who is prophesied to be humanity's savior.

This biblical epic, which is going to be released during the holiday season this year, has people excited because it is directed by the same man who helmed 2023's Sound of Freedom. The official logline for the upcoming Zero A.D. on the Angel Studios website reads like this:

"A brutal ruler fears a prophecy and orders the death of a child—one who will change history."

The Zero A.D. release date and cast list explored:

As mentioned before, Zero A.D. will be directed by the same filmmaker who helmed Sound of Freedom, a film that again starred Jim Caviezel. Caviezel here returns to play the role of Herod, the ruler who ordered the massacre of male children in Bethlehem and its vicinity to stop the prophecy from happening. One of the most impressive aspects of this movie is that Jim Caviezel is unrecognizable as Herod.

Releasing on December 19, 2025, the movie boasts of an impressive cast consisting of:

Deva Cassel as Virgin Mary
Jamie Ward as Joseph
Jim Caviezel as Herod the Great
Ben Mendelsohn as Nahash of Ammon
Gael García Bernal as Joachim
Sam Worthington as Antipater, son of King Herod

Zero A.D. will be the other religious epic actor Caviezel will be a part of, considering he even played Jesus in 2004's The Passion of the Christ and is expected to return for its sequel, The Resurrection of the Christ, which is expected to begin filming in 2026. Apart from him, 20-year-old Deva Cassel is billed as the second-billed star of the movie. For the uninitiated, she is the daughter of French actor Vincent Cassel and Italian actress Monica Bellucci.

Thus, this is another connection that this faith-based epic shares with Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ and The Resurrection of the Christ, in addition to falling under the biblical umbrella, which features the same mythical figures.

What is the movie about?

As mentioned before, the movie is a biblical epic depicting the political turmoil of the Bethlehem region as Mary and Joseph welcome baby Jesus into their lives. Based on the trailer above, it looks like Zero A.D. will follow Mary and Joseph's struggle to save their newborn from a cruel fate. The official synopsis for the movie reads:

"Before kings and empires feared him, a tyrant sought to erase him. A newborn child ignites a prophetic war. A ruthless prince seeks to crush the prophecy that threatens his father’s rule. And an unlikely mother is forced into the center of a battle between power and destiny. This is the untold origin of a revolution—where faith is tested, courage is forged, and the forces of darkness fight to extinguish the light."

Are you excited to watch this new Angel Studios movie? Let us know.

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