Annie Leibovitz has shot the promotional images for Season 5 of The Chosen — a free TV show depicting the life of Jesus.
Filmmaker and co-writer of the show Dallas Jenkins discovered Leibovitz is a fan of The Chosen after he reached out to her about doing the promotional images and much to his surprise she said yes.
“She’s the greatest photographer in history, and she has turned her eye towards our show,” Jenkins writes in an Instagram post. “During Season 5’s marketing meetings, we kept saying ‘Annie Leibovitz-style portraits, images like what Annie Leibovitz would do,’ etc… So we decided, ‘can’t hurt to ask and see if she’d consider working with us’.”
Jenkins adds that “shockingly, we found out she was a huge fan of the show and was herself honored to work with us.” He also revealed that Leibovitz had wanted to do something Bible related for over a decade but had yet to find the right project until the show approached her.
In a statement, Leibovitz says, “I admire what Dallas Jenkins is doing so much…He is the artist of our time doing the Bible.”
Four images by Leibovitz have been released: three in warm pastels and a third in a cool blue; clearly communicating something about the characters shown — the blue-toned picture does contain Judas after all. They are shot in her classic, intricately lit, painterly style that she has become so well known for while shooting, mainly, for Vanity Fair. The iconic photographer recently shot the King and Queen of Spain in a similar fashion.
Jenkins calls the images “beautiful” adding that “she’s telling human stories with these portraits, which is what we’re always trying to do…her involvement alone will bring more viewers to the show. She brings some legitimacy in the minds of many people who haven’t considered the show yet.”
The photos debuted on electronic billboards in Times Square on February 14 where Leibovitz was present. The Chosen, which began life as a crowdfunded project, has grown to over 280 million viewers and Season 5 will be available to watch on The Chosen App as well as streaming services including Apple TV, Amazon Prime, fubo TV, and the Roku Channel.
Image credits: Photographs by Annie Leibovitz/5&2 Studios
