Sequel to 'I Can Only Imagine' gets new release date, will focus on MercyMe song 'Even If'
The release date for the faith-based film “Can Only Imagine 2,” the sequel to the 2018 box office hit, is moving from March 20, 2026, to Feb. 20, 2026, Lionsgate and Kingdom Story Company have announced.
The faith-based sequel continues the powerful true story of Bart Millard (John Finley), lead singer of the Christian band MercyMe, and is filming in Nashville, Tennessee. The cast includes Milo Ventimiglia, Arielle Kebbel, Joshua Bassett, Sophie Skelton and Sammy Dell, alongside returning stars Trace Adkins and Dennis Quaid.
Directed by Andrew Erwin and Brent McCorkle, the film is based on a screenplay by McCorkle. Producers include Kevin Downes, Andrew Erwin, Cindy Bond, Bart Millard, Daryl Lefever and Joshua Walsh.
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Released in 2018, "I Can Only Imagine" became a breakout success, earning more than $83 million at the domestic box office. The first film delved into Millard's troubled past, his father's transformation through faith, and the creation of "I Can Only Imagine," the bestselling Christian single of all time.
The sequel, Downes confirmed, will follow MercyMe's next chapter and the song that defined it.
"The song that we focus on starts with 'Imagine,' so you're going to get all the feels of the height of 'I Can Only Imagine' when it was released," Downes told The Christian Post. "And then the song, it ends up tracking is their second biggest hit, which was called 'Even If.' I love the script — there are so many entry points character-wise into it."
Downes told CP the creative team behind the film believes "I Can Only Imagine 2" will resonate just as strongly as the original. "We know the film is going to be good," he said. "I can't wait. It's going to be great."
MercyMe's "Even If" was another chart-topping song that offered a poignant message of faith in the face of suffering. The song was inspired by Millard's experience with his son's illness, a deeply personal struggle that shaped the band's music and ministry.
"My son, Sam, is 15 years old, and he's been a diabetic since he was 2. When you're a parent of a child with any kind of chronic illness, these things don't go away. You have a lot of good days, but some days you feel like you're losing bad. I was in the midst of one of those bad days when 'Even If' was written," Millard previously said of the song.
In 2018, Millard applauded filmmakers for doing what he termed a “great job with a redemption story.
“It's kind of scary making a faith-based film. I didn't want it to be low-hanging fruit or kind of a corny movie, and I think they did a really great job of capturing the emotion. There were some scenes for me, in watching the film, that made me really uncomfortable — because I was kind of reliving it, and I think that's a sign of a job well done."
“I Can Only Imagine 2” comes on the heels of “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever,” directed by Dallas Jenkins, which made over $32 million at the domestic box office and $26.4 million worldwide. The film was a box office success, surpassing expectations and tripling its budget of under $10 million.
At the red carpet premiere of the film, Andy Erwin told CP that Kingdom Story Company wants to create films that highlight hope and redemption, both to Christian and mainstream audiences.
“Redemption is at the core of everything we do; it has to be about the idea of redemption that promotes hope,” he said. “I think those are the stories that, for us as people of faith, really speak to us, but they also invite an outside audience to really understand what we believe. We've tried to find different varieties of that kind of stories.”
Leah M. Klett is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: [email protected]
