Young David animated series coming in 2023

Last year, I mentioned that Angel Studios — the outfit behind the hit life-of-Jesus series The Chosen — was partnering with a South African company called Sunrise Productions to make an animated movie about David, the biblical shepherd who became a king.

Now comes word that the film will be preceded by an animated series called Young David.

A press release issued today says the series and the film are both being produced by Sunrise in conjunction with Slingshot USA — an apparently new company that, to judge from its name, was presumably created just for this project — and that the series will be released via the Christian kids’ streaming service Minno in the fall of 2023.

Angel Studios is still partnering with Sunrise and Slingshot on the film, which is currently targeting a 2025 release — but it is interesting that Angel does not seem to be involved in the series, given their huge success with The Chosen and their involvement in other animated children’s shows like Tuttle Twins and The Wingfeather Saga.

The press release says Young David will focus on the life of David “when he was still just a teen”, and that it will focus on his “early life as a shepherd – with lyre, slingshot, and sheep and goats to look after”. I have two questions about this:

First, the sample footage I posted last year was also about David’s life as a shepherd, and it was pitched at the time as test footage for the film. Were they planning a series at the time, or is that a new development? Is David still a shepherd in the film, too?

Second, will the series cover any biblical material, or will it be just new stories about David shepherding? To put this another way, what portions of David’s life will be included in the series and the film? I assume his fight with Goliath will come into the picture somewhere: Will that fight, and David’s subsequent involvement with the house of Saul and all its politics, be part of the series? Or is it being held back for the film — in which case, how much further beyond that fight will the film get?

The press release also mentions that the series will have three songs by Jonas Myrin, who co-wrote Matt Redman’s Grammy-winning ‘10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord)’. Myrin was already working on songs for the film; it is not clear if these are additional songs, or if some of the songs he was working on have been repurposed for the series.

You can get regular updates on the film via its Facebook and YouTube pages.