Angel Studios has released the first teaser trailer for David, an animated musical retelling of the biblical story of David and Goliath, set for theatrical release on December 19, 2025.
The film is a collaboration with South Africa’s Sunrise Animation Studios (Jungle Beat: The Movie) and directed by Phil Cunningham and Brent Dawes. Grammy-nominated worship artist Phil Wickham voices the adult David, while Brandon Engman plays the younger version of the shepherd who would grow up to become Israel’s legendary king.
According to Dawes, the film’s message is universal and will “hopefully inspire a new generation to stand in the face of fear and conquer the giants they face.”
More than a decade in development, David marks Angel’s most ambitious animated project to date. The teaser hints at sweeping visuals and a musical score built around themes of faith, courage, and hope, in line with the studio’s growing portfolio of faith-based content. The studio previously released The King of Kings, a CG-animated adaptation inspired by Charles Dickens’ posthumously published story about Jesus Christ. The film was a surprise box office hit, earning an estimated $19 million in its opening weekend from 3,200 theaters, and finished its run at $77.3 million.
David’s rollout doesn’t come without a bit of controversy. Earlier this year, Angel, which distributed the 2023 box-office hit Sound of Freedom, was hit with a breach of contract lawsuit from Slingshot, the production company behind David and its prequel series Young David. The suit accused Angel of attempting a “hostile takeover” of the project and of misusing Slingshot’s intellectual property, echoing a similar breach-of-contract dispute with the hit faith-based IP The Chosen.
Angel has not commented publicly on the specific allegations, but on October 8, the company, together with 2521 Entertainment, announced that they had acquired the David franchise from Slingshot, putting an end to the ongoing litigation between the studios.