Kendrick Brothers To Release “Courageous Legacy” In Fall 2021
On October 15th of this year, the Kendrick brothers with Sony Pictures will be releasing a 10th Anniversary remastered edition of their hit movie Courageous into theaters. Entitled Courageous Legacy, the film will feature new scenes and a new ending. The re-release will give audiences a chance to see what happens to many of the characters 10 years later. “It’s a new ending with a few surprises!” said Alex and Stephen Kendrick.
The original movie centered around how a personal tragedy in an officer’s life sparks a crisis of faith that inevitably leads to a life-changing decision not only for him, but for the men on his force. The new ending will pick up where the original left off. “The original movie ends with the climactic scene,” said Alex Kendrick. “And then it will literally say ’10 years later’ on the screen, and we’ll fade in on the city 10 years later.”
The original film has been re-edited to flow more quickly and to enable smooth transitions into the new, cinematic scenes. Newer technology has also been integrated to bring about the brothers’ vision. “I love the result of it,” Kendrick said. “I love seeing how these characters grow over the course of the film, and where you get to catch up to them 10 years later. I’m not sure how many movies have done that. I know movies will age their actors with makeup … but actually seeing the same people in the same movie 10 years later is very interesting.”
Kendrick said the new movie will touch on some of the current societal struggles in law enforcement, but will primarily focus on fatherhood and discipleship. “We do address some law enforcement issues … where it is applicable to what’s going on in culture,” he said. “But we don’t name any groups per se officially, only because … we didn’t do that 10 years ago. … I think when you see the film you’ll say, ‘This certainly does relate to what’s going on today, but we don’t name any groups specifically, only because we’re hoping that the impact of this film still has life in it for years to come.”
When Courageous opened in 2011, its performance well exceeded expectations. On opening weekend, it brought in $9.4 million dollars as opposed to the projected $1.5 million. “It ended the weekend as the number one new movie,” said Rich Peluso, executive vice president of Affirm Films. It eventually grossed over $35.2 million on a movie budget of $2 million and later brought in another $22 million in domestic video sales.
Courageous Legacy will be released along side of another Kendrick brothers’ film. “We are thrilled to bring this incredible story to theaters with new footage, as well as bring to the big screen the Kendrick Brothers’ first documentary,” said Peluso. This new documentary entitled Show Me The Father compliments the message of Courageous Legacy. It will explore in depth the fatherhood of God. It will present true stories of people’s relationships with their earthly father and the heavenly Father. Show Me the Father will be a separate film that is slated for release on September 10th, 2021.