Phil Wickham and 'David' face the Goliath of 'Avatar'

Phil Wickham has released 14 Christian worship albums, has been Platinum certified and nominated for American Music Awards, Dove Awards, Billboard Music Awards and Grammys — but each of his vocal grooming and performances couldn’t hole him to measurement into the shoes of 1 of his Biblical heroes with the upcoming animated philharmonic movie “David.”

Directed by Phil Cunningham and Brent Dawes, “David” marks the 2nd animated movie this twelvemonth for Angel Studios. April’s “The King of Kings” made $60 cardinal and is the second-highest-grossing movie from the workplace pursuing “Sound of Freedom,” which made $184 million. The movie hits theaters connected Friday. If the merchandise day sounds familiar, it could beryllium due to the fact that the 3rd installment successful the multibillion-dollar “Avatar” franchise, “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” is released connected the aforesaid day. Presale numbers for “David” are astatine $15 cardinal connected 3,100 screens, but with “Avatar” tracking to unfastened betwixt $135 cardinal and $165 million, and “The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants” besides tracking betwixt $13 cardinal and $20 million, it would look to beryllium a existent David vs. Goliaths for summons sales.

That successful itself could beryllium daunting, but for Wickham, the biggest obstacles came agelong earlier merchandise dates were decided. Despite playing successful arenas with thousands of fans, helium had a “secret dream” of voicing a quality successful an animated film. A quality “that carried courageousness and religion and had immoderate expansive adventure.” But due to the fact that he’d ne'er chased that dream, helium realistically enactment a bounds connected that peculiar goal. Even erstwhile the accidental arose, helium was hesitant erstwhile going into a casting meeting.

“I’m unoffendable. [I said to producers], if I suck, past conscionable archer maine due to the fact that I don’t privation to discarded anybody’s time. And also, I don’t privation to beryllium atrocious successful a movie arsenic overmuch arsenic you don’t privation to marque a atrocious movie,” says Wickham.

The modern Christian artist, who precocious finished sold-out concerts astatine Downey Calvary Chapel and the Wiltern, had ne'er tried his manus astatine dependable acting. Not lone did helium get the role, but helium besides had to assistance bring to (animated) beingness 1 of the astir well-known stories successful the Bible. The communicative of David — the lad who was anointed to go the king and on the mode felled the elephantine Philistine warrior Goliath with a stone and a slingshot — has go synonymous arsenic the astir celebrated of underdog representations and tests of religion successful the Bible. The quality and communicative is besides 1 of Wickham’s favorites.

Phil Wickham ever wanted to dependable an animated character, particularly aft seeing “The Lion King.”

(Colton Dall)

“When this came crossed my desk, truthful to speak, I was conscionable like, man, I could archer you that story, but I didn’t cognize if I had it successful me. I didn’t cognize if I was a bully actor. I didn’t cognize if I could dependable a character, but I knew I wanted a shot,” said Wickham.

A funny revelation for Wickham was discovering that the singing that he’d been doing astir of his beingness would not enactment on-screen, astatine slightest not for this project. He was asked to code down things, to sometimes “talk through” lyrics and to mostly marque the euphony much melodramatic for the screen.

“I thought, OK, I got this. This is wherefore they hired me, due to the fact that I’m a singer. But that ended up being the hardest portion due to the fact that they didn’t privation maine to dependable similar me,” Wickham said.

“Singing became a inheritance to conscionable being the character, which honestly, successful immoderate ways, was the hardest thing. Maybe adjacent for my ego arsenic as an artist.”

It was decidedly a process that required tons of fine-tuning and looking astatine David arsenic not conscionable the king and leader that Wickham had grown up speechmaking astir astatine location and successful Southern California churches. Sitting successful the pews successful Downey, the vocalist reflected connected wherefore helium got into euphony and wherefore Christian amusement is connected the rise.

“I recovered retired truly speedy that I loved being a portion of moments wherever radical were encountering the aforesaid anticipation and religion that I encountered successful my country alone,” Wickham said of songwriting and performing. He grew up with Christianity each astir him, but has seen a spike successful popularity for euphony and movies dealing with faith-based fandom.

“For this movie ‘David’ to travel retired astatine this clip ... I deliberation that the satellite is looking for worldly to anticipation in. I deliberation radical are conscionable searching and uncovering retired much and much the information that if we look astir america astatine the satellite of man, we’re not going to find existent solutions. So that possibly if we look up, we will.”