Hollywood is making a new film about the alleged "lost years" of Jesus—an action-adventure tale set in India. "In the film we are looking beyond the canonized gospels to the 'lost' gospels," the producer of Aquarian Gospel tells the Guardian. The film will feature computer animation and a "young and beautiful" princess, but will focus on "the principles that are the bedrock of all the world's great religions."
Due out in 2009, the film draws on new scholarship and stories of Jesus' Indian travels. A Russian doctor claimed proof of the trips in his 1894 book; an Indian scholar says they were recorded on ancient coins. But Christian groups are already blasting the tale, which details stops in monasteries and battles against the caste system. "I do not think it will displace thousands of years of biblical thought," said one. (More Jesus Christ stories.)