Australian filmmaker Ben Smallbone (Priceless, Homestead) has teamed up with the doting Joel David Smallbone, best known as one half of the Christian pop duo For King and Country (alongside his other brother Luke Smallbone), to direct a new Angel Studios film.
Drummer Boy, which Angel plans to release as part of its new releases at CinemaCon on Monday, is described by the company as “an action musical by the four-time Grammy Award-winning music group For King and Country that follows two brothers on opposite sides of the American Revolution.”
The Smallbone brothers will direct from a script by Richard L. Ramsey. In addition to his music career, Joel David Smallbone has starred in Priceless, The Journey to Bethlehem, the 2024 American Christian drama Unsung Hero (which he also directed), and leads the cast of Drummer Boy alongside Lucas Leitch and Beth Eastdown. Additional names will be announced.
“A country that took eight years to build. A country built on 250 years of independence. A Christmas story that began more than 2,000 years ago,” said Ben and Joel David Smallbone. “This is the essence of a film made by and about brothers, and we are humbled beyond words to be able to bring it to life.”
In addition to Drummer Boy, which is scheduled to film in Ireland later this month, Angel will be showing off several upcoming releases at the CinemaCon presentation, according to Variety. Among them is Andy Serkis’ animated film “Animal Farm,” which will be released on May 1st and features a stellar voice cast including Seth Rogen, Woody Harrelson, Glenn Close, Gaten Mattazaro, Jim Parsons, Kathleen Turner, Kieran Culkin, Steve Buscemi, Laverne Cox, and Iman Vellani.
The historical blockbuster “Young Washington,” which tells the story of George Washington before the American Revolution, is scheduled for release on July 3. Directed by John Irwin, the film stars Kelsey Grammer, Mary-Louise Parker, Ben Kingsley, and William Franklin Miller as a young George Washington.
