A teaser for season six of The Chosen has caused controversy over its depiction of angels as Asians, Native Americans and tribal African warriors.
The snippet, posted by series creator Dallas Jenkins ahead of the premiere on 15 November on Prime Video, shows multiple armed warriors sprinting to save Jesus from being arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Racing up walls and wielding a bow and arrow, sword and spear each, the blue-skinned angelic warriors seem set to attack the Romans.
But Jesus nods, and they relent from their threatened attack as Jesus gives himself up to the authorities.
Captioning the teaser, Jenkins said:“So yeah…I did something a little different this season.”
Season six of The Chosen will focus on the final 24 hours of Jesus Christ’s life on earth.
Comments under the post led viewers to believe that the mysterious clip was referencing Matthew 26:53-54.
“53 Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? / But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?” Jesus says.
The passage sees Jesus telling his disciples that they can call upon God the Father to send protection.
There was also criticism of the portrayal of angels. Conservative commentator Jon Root, best known for his work for The Daily Wire’s sports channel OutKick, added on X: "Please tell me this is a joke. Angels are Native American warriors according to The Chosen?”
More criticism came from accusations that the angels’ appearance was influenced by Mormon theology, with the Book of Mormon alleging that around 600BC, Hebrew peoples travelled to the Americas and that ancient American prophets appeared as angelic messengers to Joseph Smith.
This claim has no historical grounding or evidence to back up the theology of Latter-day Saints’ beliefs.
The show’s former distributor was Angel Studios, which was founded by Latter-day Saints.
Evangelical Christian Jenkins has said before that those of other theological backgrounds do not have creative control over the show.
He responded to criticism on Facebook and called certainty "an idol".
“Having certainty in your love and commitments to others, and in God’s authority and Truth, is great,” the series creator reflected, “but for some folks, the need for certainty expands to everything. And they nearly always value certainty over curiosity.
He continued: “Anyone who claims they know what all supernatural beings look like, or who claims they know what they’re looking at in this clip, should be seriously questioned."