Satan cast out! Devil that looked like Obama dumped from ‘Son of God’ movie
That devil that looked a lot like President Barack Obama in last year’s “The Bible” miniseries has been cut out of the feature film version.
“It gives me great pleasure to tell you that the devil is on the cutting-room floor,” Roma Downey, who produced the miniseries and movie with her husband, Mark Burnett, tells The Hollywood Reporter.
“This is now a movie about Jesus, the son of God, and the devil gets no more screen time.”
They reworked their 10-hour History channel miniseries, a huge ratings hit, to create the feature film, “Son of God,” which opens Feb. 28.
When the miniseries debuted, people noted that actor Mohamen Mehdi Ouazanni, who played Satan, looked like the president. The producers and the network issued statements saying nothing evil was intended.
The media “went nuts,” Downey told
. “I knew it was just like Satan the narcissist to make it all about him and create division. I am sure Satan loved being the center of attention for a day."
But he won’t get the chance to pull focus a second time, she vows.
For the movie, she said, “I wanted all of the focus to be on Jesus. I want his name to be on the lips of everyone who sees this movie, so we cast Satan out.”
This story was originally published February 17, 2014 at 6:04 PM with the headline "Satan cast out! Devil that looked like Obama dumped from ‘Son of God’ movie."