Angel Studios has acquired the full rights to the highly anticipated Slingshot and Sunrise animated musical DAVID.
The musical will now take the December 19 release spot, originally allotted to the Advent thriller, Zero AD.
According to a Deadline exclusive, the all-star Jim Caviezel epic is being moved to 2026.
Angel announced the acquisition online via a three-minute teaser trailer, and it is impressive.
The animated film’s “first look” features the song, Follow the Light, performed by Disney voice talent discovery Brandon Engman and CCM’s Phil Wickham.
Engman is also the voice actor behind David in the Angel, Slingshot, and Sunrise collaboration series called Young DAVID, currently available on the studio’s streaming app.
The five-episode series was released in 2023, with Angel stating at the time,
“The creators of Young DAVID believe that God’s story deserves excellence, and so do kids and families.”
“Young DAVID,” the studio added, “delivers on that commitment to excellence, raising a new high bar for Christian content for kids.”
Explaining how the television series relates to the film, Deadline’s exclusive said the content was “highly popular among the Angel Guild” – the studio’s unique, 1.5 million-member-strong, crowd-funding investment arm.
The film was purchased alongside, faith-based David L. Hunt film production enterprise, 2521 Entertainment.
Trivial, yet worth noting, 2521 Entertainment is helping fund the high-ranking Amazon Prime series, House of David, and is involved in the making of Zero AD.
In addition to these projects, Hunt’s company also partnered with Angel for its gripping 2024 post-apocalyptic Neal McDonough movie Homestead, as well as the series of the same name.
Quoting Angel Studio’s CEO and co-founder, Neal Harmon, Deadline hinted at more “deals to come.”
“Owning the DAVID intellectual property is a long-term strategic asset,” Harmon told the entertainment news site.
Adding to this, Harmon said that they are expecting to “make similar series acquisitions that resonate with the Angel Guild and have performed exceptionally well on our platform.”
Posting on X, Harmon celebrated the news, saying, “Here we go. My entire family is looking forward to this one, from five to grown. And so am I. December 19, 2025.”
The deal received an unexpected, characteristically joy-filled hat-tip from CHUCK, and SHAZAM alum Zachery Levi.
Levi tagged the studio on X, with the caption: “More awesome entertainment from my friends at Angel Studios. Always bringing the light!!!
Angel’s acquisition of the series and film is a breakthrough for the company.
The studio was embroiled in litigation with Slingshot because Angel placed the TV series behind its Guild paywall.
As per the Hollywood Reporter (HR), Slingshot “terminated its deal with Angel Studios after a disagreement related to distribution rights.”
Slingshot had accused Angel of manufacturing a “hostile takeover, and claimed Angel had overstepped in international distribution, merchandising, and marketing.”
Angel’s promotional content “made it appear as though DAVID was an in—house production.”
The series was placed behind the paywall, “despite an [alleged] agreement,” promising that “the content would be available for free.”
Press kit material published by Angel describes the film as “the largest, larger-than-life, audience-funded film in history.”
Complete ownership of DAVID settles the dispute and paves the way for the musical’s December release.
