Watch: Epic scale meets kid-friendly humour in the first full trailer for the animated David
The film comes to theatres December 19.
Another Wednesday, another video for the big-screen animated musical David—but this time it’s not a clip from the movie, it’s the first full trailer.
You can watch it here:
There’s nothing particularly new here, if you’ve been following all the clips that have already been released. But a couple of images do stand out to me.
First, because I’m a detail-oriented, genealogy-oriented kind of person, I note that this shot appears to depict all of David’s (movie) siblings:
David’s mother is missing from this shot, but we do see his father Jesse standing right behind Samuel, and on either side of them we see seven brothers (one of whom is standing on something at the back, so his head is out of the shot), plus David’s kid sister Zeruiah (who we first met in the prequel series Young David).
So, this film appears to agree with I Samuel 16:10-11 and 17:12 that David was one of eight sons, and not with I Chronicles 2:13-15 that he was one of seven. Also, the film appears to give David only one sister, not the two that the biblical David had (I Chronicles 2:16-17). (I explained in my notes on Young David why I believe the biblical Zeruiah was almost certainly much older than David, rather than younger.)
Second, this trailer might give us our first look at the Philistine king (but note: it still does not show us the face of Goliath):
And third, note how David is wearing a Philistine helmet in this shot:
Presumably this ties into the period when David hid from King Saul by living with the Philistines (I Samuel 27, etc.)… but note the next shot, which appears to show Jonathan being surrounded by Philistine soldiers:
Hmmm. The biblical Jonathan did die in battle against the Philistines, but the biblical David wasn’t there when it happened (I Samuel 29, 31). So, hmmm.
Anyhoo, this is a pretty good trailer, and should help the film draw an audience. Angel Studios announced last week that the film has already earned $3 million in ticket pre-sales, which they said is “the highest in Angel’s history, and the highest ever reported for an animated theatrical musical in such a timeframe.”
Time will tell how well the film does when it opens December 19. (The studio is also hosting “a special DAVID Family Sing-Along event in theaters nationwide on December 31, 2025,” according to last week’s press release.)
Previous videos for David:
The demo video (October 24, 2021)
A one-minute clip (August 31, 2025; starts at the 55:53 mark)
The ‘Follow the Light’ clip (October 9, 2025)
The pay-it-forward announcement with new footage (October 15, 2025)
The ‘Samuel’s Blessing’ clip (October 16, 2025)
The teaser and the ‘Tapestry’ clip (October 23, 2025)
The ‘Why God - My God’ clip (October 24, 2025)
The ‘I Will Not Be Afraid’ clip (October 30, 2025)
The ‘Adventure Song’ clip (November 5, 2025)
The ‘Victory Song’ clip (November 7, 2025)
The ‘Shalom’ clip (November 13, 2025)
Plus see my posts on the Young David series: episodes one, two, three, four, five.
Upcoming Bible movies and TV shows:
now-December 7, 2025 — Martin Scorsese Presents: The Saints: Season 2 part 1 (streaming: Fox Nation; St Peter episode November 23, 2025)
December 6, 2025 — The Solomon Saga (streaming: YouTube)
December 9, 2025 — Kevin Costner Presents: The First Christmas (television: ABC; starts streaming on Hulu/Disney+ the next day)
December 19, 2025 — David (theatrical: Angel Studios)
March 22-April 5, 2026 — The Faithful (television: Fox)
April-May 2026 — Martin Scorsese Presents: The Saints: Season 2 part 2 (streaming: Fox Nation)
second half of 2026 — The Chosen: Season 6: Episodes 1-6 (streaming: Prime Video)
sometime in 2026 — Zero A.D. (theatrical: Angel Studios)
March 12, 2027 — The Chosen: Season 6: Finale (theatrical: Amazon MGM)
March 26, 2027 — The Resurrection of the Christ: Part One (theatrical: Lionsgate)
May 6, 2027 — The Resurrection of the Christ: Part Two (theatrical: Lionsgate)
March 31, 2028 — The Chosen: Season 7: Premiere (theatrical: Amazon MGM)
no release date specified — Jacob (theatrical: Angel Studios)
no release date specified — Joseph of Egypt (streaming: Prime Video)
no release date specified — The Promised Land: Season 2 (streaming)
who knows when Malick will finish it — The Way of the Wind (theatrical)