The table is set. The people of Israel welcome Jesus (Jonathan Roumie) as king while his disciples anticipate his crowning. But—instead of confronting Rome—he turns the tables on the Jewish religious festival. With their power threatened, the country’s religious and political leaders will go to any length to ensure this Passover meal is Jesus’ last. The Chosen: Last Supper is the one of most important and influential week in religious history that explores the iconic events unfold, the triumphal entry into Jerusalem, the turning of the tables, the betrayal of Judas and the Last Supper).
To celebrate the next chapter in one of the greatest stories ever told, The Koalition spoke to Roumie to learn more about taking on the icon role, Jesus’ mindset to accomplish his goal of dying on the cross, filming the last supper, how this season portrays Jesus in a different light and more.
“Season 5 opens with a lot of hope and possibilities. As far as the disciples are concerned, even Jesus is overwhelmed by the reception he receives during his triumphal entry into Jerusalem.” Roumie also foreshadows, “Deep down, there’s this underlying sadness because he knows what’s to come, just five days away.” These final days will unfold over the course of the entire season, leading into the crucifixion in Season 6 and the resurrection in Season 7.
However,” Jesus has a mission, and his mission is to get to the cross; how he gets there is what The Chosen is all about. It starts on a high, as he enters Jerusalem on a donkey triumphantly, where people are chanting his name and Hosanna to the son of David. They’re waving palm branches, and they’re throwing their garments in front of the donkey like they would a king. They’re ready to crown him king, but five days later, you fast forward, and half of that same crowd is now chanting for his death and his crucifixion. Simply 5 days later, he ends up being nailed to a cross without true cause, and that is the story of this fifth season in all its twists and turns.”
In this season, “We see an emotional range and spectrum from Jesus especially that nobody’s really depicted before in cinematic history in a way that’s never been done before. We’re really proud of what we accomplished this season and excited for people to see what we put together, especially because it’s going to be on the big screen and even in IMAX, so that is a completely new twist for us on a technological level. We’re super excited.”
With each season of The Chosen, the audience has continued to grow and expand in new and exciting ways. What started as a crowdfunded show on a modest budget has now gathered a massive following and become one of the most-watched shows in the world. “Season 5 is the culmination of a story that we’ve been telling for several years, and it will be the most accessible season yet that promises to be the biggest season yet that features spy espionage, cloaks and daggers, and is rich with action, adventure, and even courtroom drama. However, no matter how big or epic or exciting or historically famous a scene may be, you’re ultimately going to care about it more because you know the characters and you’re invested in them.”
Jesus outsmarts the religious leaders at every turn, and they cannot beat him if they play fairly. He puts the religious leaders in an impossible position, such that they have to work with their oppressors, the Romans, to eliminate him. Jesus is strategic during Holy Week, while being both defiant and submissive. Plagued by confusion, the disciples and followers who knew Jesus best struggle to understand his words and actions, which will only make sense in time.
Jesus is in control the entire season, but he’s operating on a level no one else can comprehend. Jesus coming in on a donkey and coming in with such humility actually is, in many ways, an act of defiance to the expectations of what people had for the Messiah. “There are elements of knowing that action will certainly set the ball in motion to make sure that Pharisees and the people that are against his mission make sure he gets appropriately seized, sentenced, and taken out of the picture, so to speak. As far as his emotional intentions behind it, Jesus, as a representative of God in our story, sees his father’s house, as he refers to it, the temple, being actively defiled by the people who are supposed to be protecting it. There’s extortion going on; there’s cheating going on. There are all sorts of illicit kinds of activities being done in the temple right in plain view. He sees this as an absolute affront to God, and rightly so.”
Fans should prepare themselves to experience Jesus’ behavior and actions differently from what has been seen in previous seasons. “The audience will experience the pressures that Jesus’ human body must have been facing. I think even Jesus is overwhelmed with the reception that he receives on his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, but I think deep down, there’s this underlying sadness because he knows what’s to come near days away. There is so much Jesus had to say in his final days and so many unexpected twists and turns of storylines, which were all just fantastic for me to play. The overturning of the marketplace for me was the most technically exciting and also emotionally exciting because we see a side of Jesus we hadn’t seen yet . . . his righteous anger.”
“He decides he’s had enough; it’s the last straw, and he has to make an example, and so he turns the tables over. He flips tables on these money changers who are cheating people. These people that are being cheated and extorted are the poorest of the poor; they are pilgrims that have come all the way to Jerusalem once a year and spent everything they had to give these animals over as sacrifices in atonement for sins. [They are] being upsold and being told what they are bringing is not pure enough. They have to buy one of the temple animals instead, and it’s going to cost this much plus 40% more for this tax and the Romans tax. It’s a mockery and a defilement. He’s had enough, and he does what he needs to do to make a point, to teach a lesson, but also to forward his mission to the cross.”
To learn more about season 5 of The Chosen: The Last Supper, check out our full interview in the video above.
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