Lionsgate to Make a ‘Zealot’ Movie About Jesus

The studio has acquired the rights to Reza Aslan’s latest book

Lionsgate will make a movie based on Reza Aslan’s “Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth,” the studio said on Wednesday. It has acquired the feature film rights to the book, a New York Times best-seller about Jesus’ life and the various religious perspectives of one of history’s most famous figures.

“Reza Aslan has written a remarkable book that manages to bring the ancient world into contemporary relief and to make a timeless story very timely,” Erik Feig, Lionsgate Motion Picture Group’s President of Production, said in a statement. “We are excited to create this uniquely cinematic and immersive world for moviegoers to experience.”

The book gained a lot of attention after some knuckleheads at Fox News questioned why Aslan, a Muslim, could be trusted to write a book about Christ.

Aslan is well-respected scholar whose previous book, “No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam” was also a best-seller.

Feig will oversee the project for the studio with Gillian Bohrer and James Meyers. Lionsgate made the deal with UTA, Elyse Cheney and attorney Michael Schenkman.

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