The Chosen One (Netflix series, 2023)

Relocated from the US to Mexico, the new Millarworld-series The Chosen One is based on the comic book American Jesus by Mark Millar and Peter Gross.

The series is directed by Everardo Gout (The Forever Purge) and stars Bobby Luhnow, Diana Agron, Tenoch Huerta and Carlos Bardem.

Per the official synopsis it’s about Jodie (Luhnow), a twelve-year-old boy from Santa Rosalía, Baja California Sur, who after surviving a freak accident, discovers that he has Jesus-like powers: He can turn water into wine, make the crippled walk and perhaps even raise the dead.

Evangelical and Yaqui leaders want him to use his powers for good, but all Jodie wants to do is impress the girl he likes, keep his friends and his mother close, and teach the local bully boy a lesson. But what if his eventual destiny is part of a much bigger conflict, one that is thousands of years in the making?

Mark Millar is the creator of (deep breath) Jupiter’s Legacy, Kick-Ass, Kingsman, Magic Order Wanted, Marvel’s Civil War, Superman: Red Son, etc. etc.

He is also President of his own Millarworld company, which was bought by Netflix in 2017, and any new release is greeted with a great level of anticipation by his fans. 

The first episode starts innocently enough. Jodie is part of a circle of friends, who decide to walk across a deserted salt lake, in search of a mysterious siren.

The trip, however, turns dangerous when they lose their way and threaten to run out of food and water. But when Jodie has a mystic vision, that includes an over flying seagull, he and his friends are able to find their way again.

This vision is clearly the shape of things to come, cause when later in the episode the freak accident occurs - the type you cannot possibly survive - Jodie comes out unharmed, in a ‘Bruce Willis in Unbreakable’ kind of way.

As a whole the first episode is reminiscent of the classic movie Stand By Me, although the Baja setting and the desert vibe give The Chosen One a distinct character all its own.

Both the cinematography and the young actors are great, and after the fun and eventful second episode, in which Jodie and his friends try to make some money from their new found fame -by doing magic tricks - it is clear we are bound for deeper, darker and, possibly, stranger things.

I think Millarworld has a good thing going here and The Chosen One (or El Elegido, as it is also called) is definitely worth the binge.

Here’s the trailer: