By Michaela Gordoni
MercyMe’s Bart Millard and I CAN ONLY IMAGINE 2’s cast dove into their experience in telling another radical story about the band’s members.
“It was such a fun challenge,” John Michael Finley, who portrays Millard in the movies, told Movieguide®. “For me personally, a lot has happened in the past eight years. You know, for me, it might as well have been 30 years.”
“So, for me it was quite fitting to jump back into a place of being unsure, struggling with things, maybe loss of faith, loss of this, loss of that. And so I’m happy that we’re talking about so much things that are kind of taboo, you know what I mean? And I love that we’re covering that stuff.”
The sequel tells the story of Millard and his son Sam’s relationship. Millard becomes anxious and worried when Sam doesn’t take his health seriously as a diabetic. Bart’s wife encourages him to take Sam on his tour, and it sparks a renewed relationship between father and son and a new song — “Even If.”
Millard says the story is full of grief, gratitude, joy and laughter.
“The idea of holding grief and gratitude is that, you know, you’ve got to find reason, find hope in the really, really dark times, and you got to be realistic in the high times,” Millard explained. “And it’s all of that. And it’s what life is.”
The movie reminds viewers that they aren’t alone in their experiences.
“And that everybody has a story worth telling, and the story’s not over,” Millard added. “…You’d be surprised at what’s around the corner. And that’s kind of what this movie is about, is that… it’s like you cried a lot and laughed a lot.”
“And that’s the idea, that, you know, that’s what life is,” he continued. “And hopefully people can gather that and realize that they’re not going through this thing by themselves.”
Sammy Dell delved into his experience playing Sam.
“Sam and I are very similar in a lot of ways, just as we are different,” Dell told Movieguide®. “…It’s really interesting to kind of come in and like have this person that I get to kind of portray a little bit on screen. And…to think about kind of the artistry aspect of like Sam and how he started versus what he’s doing now.”
Part of Movieguide®’s +4 review of the movie is, “I CAN ONLY IMAGINE 2 is a beautiful, powerful, wonderfully acted movie of faith and family… The musical interludes beautifully portray the story’s high points, character arcs and spiritual themes. All these elements reflect a strong Christian, moral worldview.”
The movie hits theaters on Friday, Feb. 20.
Read Next: I CAN ONLY IMAGINE 2 Forged a Friendship Between This Actor and Christian Singer
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