The Chosen season 5 shattered records at the box office as viewers came in droves to see the episodes on the silver screen. The Chosen: Last Supper - Part 1, which was released in approximately 2,000 theaters, earned $11.7 million in its opening weekend and proved that this franchise has theatrical potential. With season 6 currently in development, another theatrical release is seemingly inevitable.

In a live Q&A for The Chosen, franchise creator Dallas Jenkins opened up about the producers' plans for the season. While he has always been "extremely transparent" about the direction of each release, he intends to be more reserved with these coming episodes. He believes the release schedules have given viewers unrealistic expectations, hurting the show's reception. He no longer intends to share the release window until it is finalized. Check out his quote below:

We've always been extremely transparent, monumentally, more so than any other movie or television show in history, so you get a peek behind the curtain, and sometimes with that, that comes like kind of our in-real-time thoughts of “Okay, we think it might come out at this time, and we're not sure.” Well, I'm going to start reducing some of that now. I'm not reducing your access to the set and your access to social media and all that kind of stuff, and the behind the scenes, but when it comes to releases there's so much confusion that comes as a result of this, and sometimes had people have certain expectations that we're just not going to do that anymore. I’m not going to give you dates. I’m not saying this aggressively, I'm just saying, just moving forward, we're not going to give dates until we have them locked in, so we're just not going to talk about release schedules anymore, until we know the date…

Additionally, Jenkins addressed the theatrical angle of the show for season 6. While he did not confirm that the first few episodes would appear on the silver screen, he did emphasize that the finale would be in theaters. He also believes that the season will be "a little longer than normal." Check out his post below:

So, season six, one thing I will clear up, because there's been some rumors in the past, here's what's happening. Season six, the first six episodes, are going to be coming out sometime next year. It won't be early next year… It won't be early, then there's the finale, which is going to be a global theatrical event. That's going to be after the first six episodes have come out. There's going to be a period of time in between episode 6 and the finale now. Again, we don't know exactly when that's going to be, but I'm just wanting to kind of clear up what's been talked about in the past. It’s not it's not like it's its own thing. It's not like the season's going to be shorter. In fact, the season's going to be probably a little longer than normal.

What The Chosen Season 6's Release Schedule Means

It Will Not Be As Orderly As Previous Seasons

Though Jenkins plans to avoid discussing release windows, he did offer some key information about the season. He directly stated that "It won't be early next year," but a late 2026 or summer 2026 release is still possible. Unfortunately, the season's debut could also be pushed back to 2027, especially since Jenkins is hard at work on The Chosen's Biblical universe. With several other shows in development, the main series could struggle to gain the necessary resources to ensure an early release schedule.

Still, Jenkins addressed the reason for the ongoing delay by pointing to other recent Hollywood releases. High-budget shows have increasingly seen a two-year wait between seasons, with Stranger Things, House of the Dragon, and The Boys each taking multiple years. Considering that attention to this series has been rising since the first season, its budget has likely faced a similar increase with each consecutive episode. The theatrical angle will likely only make that problem more apparent, as Jenkins now has to satisfy a wider audience.

Our Take On The Chosen's Season 6 Schedule

Reducing Transparency Is The Smart Decision

Unfortunately, in the age of social media, transparency about productions will only increase speculation about the reasons for delays and other related issues. By avoiding setting dates, Jenkins can ensure that audiences will not be enraged if the show stumbles and requires more time to produce the episodes. With the need to plan around theatrical releases, the show now has an even more complicated schedule. Reducing transparency about The Chosen's release window is disappointing, but it is also a necessary step.

Source: The Chosen