Throughout the history of humanity, whether they are believers or not, we are sure that many at some point have wondered What would happen if from one day to the next, Jesus Christ “returned” to Earth. Both religion and philosophy have tried to answer this without much success to say. However, in the world of entertainment have raised interesting ideas in this regard, such as the case of The chosen one.
We have been telling you for a long time that Netflix put the batteries to adapt the comic book saga into a television series American Jesuscreated by Mark Millar and Peter Gross, under the name of The chosen one. And without a doubt, It was striking that the platform was working on this specific plot, since it is a cartoon that has caused a bit of controversy since its launch..
‘The Chosen One’ finally premiered on Netflix and we talked with its creators
However, Little by little, the streaming giant was releasing details and glimpses of The chosen oneand in addition to leaving us with a square eye with what we checked in those advances, they managed to make our expectations go straight to heaven with the concept of having the son of God back in this world – and especially in our country.
That is why, taking advantage of the fact that on August 16 the first season of The chosen onewe had the chance to talk with none other than the creator of the comic, Mark Millerand one of the producers of this series, Stacy Perskiewho told us about the origin of the story, the importance of Mexico in this adaptation and much more.
The idea behind ‘American Jesus’
In 2004, Mark Millar and cartoonist Peter Gross published chosen, a series of comics that would later come together in a first volume called American Jesus. In each installment they tell us the story of Jodie, a 12-year-old boy who, after miraculously saving himself from a terrible accident, discovers that he has the same abilities as Jesus Christ.
Despite the fact that the comic was gaining a lot of fans, the authors took a long time to give the public the ending they were waiting for. we say it because It was in 2020 when the second volume appeared and until 2023 they concluded with the story on which it is based The chosen one (almost on par with the series premiere).
And maybe you have the doubt where Mark Millar got the idea to write all this. Well, we were in the same situation, that’s why we took the opportunity to ask the author himself about the inspiration behind this comic.
“I love great ideas, there is nothing I love more than a great concept. And there’s no bigger story than (Jesus Christ) coming back to try to fix everything. Every culture in the world and at every point in human history tells the story of a good guy who comes to save the day and change what is wrong with the planet.
“So I was excited to pick this up and tell my own version of that story, even though it all started in a very limited way. I was thinking of starting with a little boy coming of age and discovering his tremendous destiny, that was the way I wanted to end the story.”.
“Over the years I found the answer, because the ideal was to tell the story of this child little by little who is taken by his mother and who likes to read comics or watch MTV with his friends, even though those were not his true friends. It’s like dreaming that you’re Spider-Man or Superman or something, only to discover that you’re part of something much bigger. That seemed to me to be the best thing for this story.”
The evolution until ‘The Chosen One’
Behind a production as big as that of The chosen one And above all, in a project for a company like Netflix, there are always a lot of people behind it who make sure that those series that we throw at us reach our homes. Among them is Stacy Perskie, who has worked with the streaming giant on other titles, such as BARD by Alejandro González Iñárritu or Narcos: Mexico.
However, now it was his turn to work in The chosen one, and the producer himself told us how he found out about this story and above all, what convinced him to join the team that adapted and brought to television the comic of American Jesus.
“The first approach I had to this story was five years ago, when Netflix asked me to get involved in the process of adaptation and development of the series, you know, write the script and take it to Mexico. The graphic novel blew my mind, I was caught by this idea of adapting it to another country but maintaining this same spirit of the story. You know, the boy and his mother running away to a place in Mexico, I found it very inspiring ”
“Obviously, the cultural roots of Mexico joining the canvas of the series I found very exciting. And then, of course, talking to Mark about the story and the whole team that worked to find the locations where we would do this and where it all came to life, it was wonderful. Without a doubt, a project that he left me with my mouth open ”.
‘American Jesus’ with all the Mexican touch
Although it is thought that comic book adaptations should be faithful to what we see on the pages, There are those who decide to take the risk of making one or another change that, despite altering the original story a bit, results in something much better.
And we dare to say that this is exactly the case of this series, because in American Jesus, the plot takes place in the United States. However, the events of The chosen one occur in Baja California Sur, specifically in the town of Santa Rosalíawhich makes a lot of sense but… why do we say this?
This adaptation is consistent with our country because culturally, Mexico is a country that has a deeply rooted Catholic tradition.. That is why the symbolism and iconography of religion that Mark Millar put in this comic, gain greater importance and weight for the path of the protagonist. Here we leave the opinion of the creator of the comic about this small change.
“I remember that when I found out that Netflix was going to adapt ‘American Jesus’ for the Latin American region and specifically in Mexico, someone told me that this was the best they could do. And I replied ‘really?’. Then we started talking about it and they were right, it’s the best change they could have made, it’s perfect. I think it was more difficult for the general public to empathize with this story if it was set in the United States again., because originally what I wrote happened in a Chicago neighborhood”.
“But making the move to Mexico immediately gave it a new flavor that no other comic book adaptation has. Because you know, everything always takes place in the same cities around the world, New York, etc. At the same time, I think that setting the story in this specific town, with all its dimension and traditions, makes the series very authentic. It seems to me something fresh, new and that as you mention, thanks to the cultural roots, ‘American Jesus’ acquires a new meaning. I am grateful that they have treated the comic with great respect and affection, because I believe that the final result is one of the best I have seen in terms of adaptations of my works”.
What makes ‘The Chosen One’ special?
Whenever there is a new adaptation of a story that comes directly from the comics, there is never a lack of comparison between which is better than the other, that is something that cannot be avoided. However, to finish talking with Mark Millar and Stacy Perskie, they told us what makes special to them The chosen one on Netflix. And the truth is that we agree with your answers.
“I feel that choosing a good cast is the key to everything. I think that the cast of this series is a thousand times better than what I could have imagined in my head. Casting children for these projects is very difficult, but the team cast extremely charismatic and brilliant actors. When they adapt something that you did, I think you’re the ultimate judge and you’re really not that soft when you see it all finished, because my name is going to be on it and I always want the result to be amazing.
“But really, I’m very proud of what they did with this series because it’s so different from other comic book adaptations. And it’s this kind of series that demonstrates everything that comics should be, because it doesn’t necessarily have to be about superheroes, it’s in the middle of that. I think this is as if some fan of the Superman comics had seen the 1978 movie, if you are Mexican and you see ‘El Elegido’, this is everything you were waiting for”.
Said Mark Millar of this version of his story
“I think I agree with Mark, moving everything to Mexico gave us a new place and culture to develop the plot. The town of Santa Rosalía, the place where the series takes place, is very special and unique, because even in Mexico, the architecture and the place where it is located geographically – where you have the sea, the desert and the mountains – is something out of the ordinary. common. But also something that I really love about ‘The Chosen One’ and that I think makes it special is the group of children. All the actors made an incredible ensemble and connected in a special way both with the story and with each other. To me, that’s wonderful, I hope the public falls in love with that dynamic and what we did.”
Stacy Perskie testified about the adaptation
