Watch: The first trailer for The Book of Clarence

LaKeith Stanfield stars as a resident of first-century Jerusalem who, envious of Jesus' celebrity, starts a messianic movement of his own.

Clarence (LaKeith Stanfield) and his friend (RJ Cyler) steal a few ideas from Jesus.

We have our first trailer for The Book of Clarence.

The film stars LaKeith Stanfield as Clarence, a resident of first-century Jerusalem who tries to exploit the “celebrity and influence” of Jesus “for his own personal gain,” according to to an early press release. It seems, based on this trailer, that Clarence’s efforts will include fake miraculous healings and the like.

I’ll post some images and comments below. But first, here is the actual video:

From the trailer, Clarence’s followers before and after he starts faking healings:

Jesus himself appears in the trailer, but we don’t get a good look at him, at least not in the regular footage. He’s either obscured by lens flares and the like…

…or he’s filmed from a distance, like so:

However, we do seem to get a decent look at him in the Last Supper-themed title cards, like the one below—and it appears he’s being played by Nicholas Pinnock (who previously played a Jewish Zealot named Arik in 2015’s A.D. The Bible Continues):

There seem to be at least two other biblical characters in this trailer.

First, this is presumably John the Baptist, as played by David Oyelowo (who previously played Joseph of Arimathea in 2008’s The Passion):

How often has John the Baptist been depicted wearing sleeves like that?

And second, a Roman officer played by James McAvoy, who I’m guessing is Pilate. (McAvoy, to my knowledge, has never been in a Bible movie per se, but he did help kill the biblical figure Enoch, aka the Metatron, in last year’s His Dark Materials.)

A couple of the film’s other co-stars are clearly highlighted in this trailer.

First, Omar Sy appears to be playing some sort of gladiator:

And then there’s Alfre Woodard, who, based on the white hair and white clothes, could be playing an angel… or maybe she’s just playing a regular older woman:

One major co-star we don’t see in this trailer is Benedict Cumberbatch.

A few other iconic images pop up in this trailer.

Here, for example, is a trial scene (Clarence’s, not Jesus’s, I assume):

And here is a hill filled with crosses (more than the usual three, apparently):

In addition to the biblical iconography that is evoked in this trailer, there is a bit of movie iconography… like this chariot race (or chase) through the streets of Jerusalem:

Incidentally, this trailer isn’t the only source of new images from The Book of Clarence this week. Yesterday, Vanity Fair ran an interview with director Jeymes Samuel and posted some images from the film as well. (They’re all behind a paywall.)

Two points about the article itself:

• Samuel doesn’t say much in the interview that he hasn’t said before, but it’s still interesting to hear him talk about his desire to focus on characters who are typically ignored in Bible films, like “the woman or man that owns the hair salon.” (Hair salons haven’t always been ignored; fans of The Chosen might recall the one that Mary Magdalene visited at the beginning of Season 1 Episode 2.)¹

• The article also makes some claims about the film that don’t… feel right to me. For example, it says Clarence is trying to “become one of the Messiah’s apostles,” but it seems pretty clear from the trailer that Clarence is trying to become an actual Messiah. Also, the article says the film was shot in Matera, Italy, because the filmmakers needed “a location that could stand in for Nazareth”—but the trailer says, quite explicitly, that the story is taking place in Jerusalem, a city that is never even mentioned in the article. So, take that with a grain of salt.

Anyway. For those who are just hearing about the film now, here are links to some of the things I’ve written about it in the past:

• ‘Jeymes Samuel and LaKeith Stanfield are going to make a Bible movie’ (May 16, 2022) — Includes quotes from Samuel’s first interview on the subject, and a list of some of the previous films that have cast black actors as biblical characters.

• ‘Pins and Needles (formerly The Book of Clarence) now filming in Italy’ (November 25, 2022) — Includes the news that roughly 200 of the film’s black extras were “selected by the film’s production from immigrant refugee centers situated in the surrounding Basilicata region,” which actually ties into the theme of another Bible-themed movie that was shot in Matera, 2020’s The New Gospel.

• ‘The Book of Clarence: a lot of new actors, and a few new plot details’ (December 6, 2022) — Includes a fairly long list of the actors who were announced.

• ‘The Book of Clarence gets a test screening’ (June 5, 2023)

A few other quick thoughts:

• The studio has avoided calling this film a “comedy” in its press materials so far, but it seems pretty clear that that’s what this is, at least to some degree.

• Monty Python’s Life of Brian was about a guy who is accidentally mistaken for a messiah; this movie is about a guy who fakes being a messiah.

• Interestingly, this is one of two biblical films being released by Sony Pictures in the next few months. Journey to Bethlehem, a musical depiction of the Nativity, comes to theatres November 10. That film is being promoted under Sony’s “faith-based” Affirm Films banner. The Book of Clarence is definitely not.

And, that will about do it for now, I think.

The Book of Clarence is coming to theatres January 12, 2024, i.e. the MLK weekend.

1. The photographic evidence, if you need it: