Seth Udinski, FISM News
An inspiring true story of faith and sports is hitting theaters on Christmas Day, achieving an accomplishment that most Christian-based movies cannot.
“American Underdog” will air in theaters across the nation on Christmas Day, 2021.
The movie tells the true story of Hall of Fame NFL quarterback Kurt Warner, who went from a grocery store clerk to a Super Bowl champion.
In 1999, the year in which the movie is set, Warner won the NFL MVP award, throwing 41 touchdowns and bringing the Rams to the top of the NFL world after they had lost more games than any other team in the 1990s. He would win another MVP in 2001, bringing the Rams back to the Super Bowl where they lost a shocker to a young Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, 20-17. At the end of his career, he led one more brilliant chase to a title, this time with the star-crossed Arizona Cardinals. Warner drove the Cardinals to the Super Bowl before losing to the Pittsburg Steelers. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2017.
Warner is a devout Christian. After his victory in Super Bowl XXXIV, he famously gave glory to God in his postgame interview in front of millions of viewers worldwide. “American Underdog” will explore this inspirational story of faith and triumph. It is produced, in part, by Warner and his wife, Brenda. Zachery Levi will portray the Hall of Fame quarterback on screen.
The film itself, like its main protagonist, is an underdog story. Director Andy Erwin said of the opportunity to show the film on Christmas Day:
God is opening doors in film that I never thought was possible…We’re so excited about how it turned out, so much so that Lionsgate gave us a Christmas Day release, which has never happened for anything involving faith, so it’s incredible.