National Geographic to adapt Bill O’Reilly's “Killing Jesus”

PanARMENIAN.Net - National Geographic Channel is set to adapt Bill O’Reilly's upcoming book Killing Jesus: A History, marking the third telepic partnering of the author, the cable network and Ridley Scott's Scott Free Productions, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The news comes on the heels of the successful launch of O'Reilly's Killing Lincoln in February. The scripted adaptation, starring Billy Campbell as the 16th president and Jesse Johnson as John Wilkes Booth, pulled a record 3.4 million viewers to the cable network. Nat Geo is also in preproduction on O'Reilly's Killing Kennedy: The End of Camelot.

O'Reilly, who will serve as executive producer on Killing Jesus, is writing the book with his researcher and partner Martin Dugard. Production on the film is scheduled to begin in the fall. Killing Jesus, as the title implies, follows the events leading up to the crucifixion. And the green light follows the current success of History's religion-themed miniseries The Bible, which has been pulling north of 10 million viewers every Sunday since March 3. Nat Geo's previous religious forays include 2006 special The Gospel of Judas.

All three Killing adaptations follow the November debut of SEAL Team Six, Nat Geo’s first feature film. The Weinstein Co.'s retelling of the raid on Osama bin Laden's compound brought in 2.7 million viewers.

Killing Jesus will be published in Sept. 24 by Henry Holt.