Much to our disappointment, Nicolas Cage is not playing Jesus in this upcoming religious horror film. But he is playing his dad. Or at least his stepdad. How’s your theology?
How to watch The Carpenter’s Son in New Zealand
The Carpenter’s Son is screening exclusively in New Zealand cinemas from November 20, 2025.
What is The Carpenter’s Son about?
We set our scene in Roman Egypt, some time around….oh, let’s say 13AD. The young Jesus Christ and his parents are living as refugees (read your bible, folks—some good stuff in there). When little J gets a new playmate, things start getting creepy. As it eventuates, the new kid on the block is no other than the Devil, come to collect the Son of God’s soul. And so we get a kind of first principles possession/exorcism flick, with the Redeemer himself at risk of damnation. Provocative stuff.
This one comes to us from writer and director Lotfy Nathan, who draws on his own Coptic Christian upbringing, along with the apocryphal Infancy Gospel of Thomas, to tell his tale.
The cast of The Carpenter’s Son
Nicolas Cage is Joseph, FKA Twigs is Mary, Noah Jupe is Jesus, and Isla Johnston is Satan. Yep, that’s about it.
The Carpenter’s Son trailer
Why we’re excited about The Carpenter’s Son
Interesting stuff! There’s a big gap in the biblical record in the middle of Jesus’ life, and the Apocrypha offers some wild and occasionally shocking accounts of what the young Christ got up to (and it’s no wonder the Church declared them null). If this thing goes full tilt into that area of inquiry, we could be in for something really interesting. And if it doesn’t? Well, let’s face it, Nicolas Cage will be doing something different in his role here, and that’s always worth a ticket.
