By Mallory Mattingly
Filmmaker Daniel Kooman created his new movie DANIEL with the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
“I don’t think you can make a Bible story without the Holy Spirit, at least not accurately,” Kooman told The Christian Post. “It influences everything from script to screen.”
He and his brother Matthew both directed and wrote DANIEL, and they agree that without the Holy Spirit involved in every piece of the process, the project will fail.
“We have a team where many of the people are Spirit-filled,” Kooman said. “So, you have that helper, that support system built in, where you’re getting direction and leaning on Scripture in a deeper way. The failure of a lot of these other Bible films that came out is that they weren’t done by believers, and they weren’t done with an honor to the text. Which is literally paramount.”
No official release date for DANIEL has been announced, but it will land in theaters in 2026.
Kooman, Matthew and their other brother Andrew will bring DANIEL to the big screen through Unveil Studios, the production company they founded.
“In the first dramatic months of the Jewish exile into Babylon, Daniel and his brave friends are put to the test as the armies of Babylon take over Jerusalem,” the movie’s logline reads.
Related: How Faith-Based Movie SOUND OF FREEDOM Found Success in Theaters
It continues, “Under the shrewd and powerful Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel and his friends Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego prosper by winning the king’s trust, but they earn powerful enemies along the way. Facing danger at every turn, the story climaxes at the fiery furnace, where they will be called to make the ultimate sacrifice, and decide once and for all whether they are willing to stand for the truth, even in the face of certain death.”
The project also features exclusive new tracks from legendary Christian singer Michael W. Smith.
Kooman hopes Daniel will produce great results in theaters as the film has already raised $1.2 million through crowdfunding campaigns. He believes that’s because so many people are hungry for faith-filled content.
“At the end of the day, we’ve been starved of faith-based entertainment,” he said to The Christian Post. “If you think about the number of films released, whether that be to streaming or in theaters, there’s such a small percentage that are faith movies — especially biblical movies. Why are there not five to 10 Bible movies coming out every year?”
“We’ve been developing the DANIEL movie for a couple of years because we’ve known for many years that biblical films are really what the faith audience is looking for,” he added. “Now that it’s actually becoming available, and people can be a part of it, that just really drove the crowdfund to amazing heights. People are like, ‘Yeah, this is exactly what we want.’”
People certainly want faith-based content, as the recent success of projects like THE CHOSEN, HOUSE OF DAVID and THE KING OF KINGS has proven. The Kooman brothers believe DANIEL will be the next one to crush it at the box office.
Read Next: Dallas Jenkins On THE CHOSEN’s Success: ‘God Uses The Humbled’
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