Dallas Jenkins accuses detractors of idolatry amid backlash to 'Avatar' angels in 'The Chosen'

"The Chosen" director Dallas Jenkins suggested on Tuesday that critics of a teaser for the upcoming season showing blue-skinned, racially diverse angels in the Garden of Gethsemane are guilty of idolatry.

"Some people make 'certainty' an idol. Having certainty in your love and commitments to others, and in God’s authority and Truth, is great. There are some supremely important things in my life I’m absolutely certain of. But for some folks, the need for certainty expands to everything. And they nearly always value certainty over curiosity," Jenkins wrote in a lengthy Facebook post.

Jenkins was responding to negative reactions to a short teaser clip for the sixth season of the popular Bible-based Amazon Prime series, which sparked intense online debate when it was posted to social media on Sunday ahead of its Nov. 14 livestream premiere.

The clip, which has drawn 7 million impressions on X, shows a group of bluish angelic warriors ascending walls in a kung-fu style as they ready their weapons against the mob arresting Jesus, played by actor Jonathan Roumie.

Roumie is seen calling off their attack, in an apparent reference to Christ claiming in Matt. 26:53 that He was empowered to call upon more than 12 legions of angels to prevent His arrest.

Season 6 is different. https://t.co/JO1wyyN2xG

— The Chosen (@thechosentv) November 1, 2026

While some X users expressed support for the artistic interpretation of Matt. 26:53, others took issue with what they interpreted as an overt attempt to add "forced diversity" to the angels.

One angel resembled a Native American warrior adorned with a feather and wielding a bow-and-arrow, while two others appeared to be of East Asian and African heritage. Protestia, a popular Christian X account, likened their depiction to the blue creatures in James Cameron's "Avatar" series.

Some speculated that the American Indian motif was a possible "theological Easter egg for Mormons," linking the imagery to figures such as the Nephites. According to the Book of Mormon, the Nephites were an ancient group of Hebrews who traveled to the Americas roughly 600 years before the birth of Christ. One user noted with concern that despite taking liberties by adding to the Gospel story, "The Chosen" has left out crucial supernatural elements such as the baptism of Christ and the Transfiguration.

Angel Studios, which originally helped distribute and crowdfund "The Chosen," was founded by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as the Mormon Church. The show subsequently parted ways with Angel Studios. Jenkins is an Evangelical, though some executive producers, such as Derral Eves and Brad Pelo, remain affiliated with Mormonism.

Conservative Christian commentator Jon Root posted a widely engaged response, writing: "Please tell me this is a joke… Angels are Native American warriors according to The Chosen?" His post received thousands of likes and hundreds of replies.

Root also reposted his X thread from 2024, explaining that while he first supported "The Chosen," he came to believe it was influenced by Mormon theology and "preaches a different Gospel" by making Roumie's Jesus character say things the biblical Jesus never said. He singled out scenes such as when the Jesus of "The Chosen" claimed "I am the Law of Moses," refused to be worshiped, omitted repentance from an otherwise scriptural quotation, and asked Matthew for help in writing a sermon.

Root also pinpointed one of the show's cast members claiming Jesus had "flaws." In one scene, Root highlighted as an apparent example of such a Christology, a 12-year-old Jesus shows contrition after Joseph accuses Him of "transgression" for worrying them by lingering in the Temple. According to the story in Luke 2:41-52, Jesus was submissive to His parents, but also gently rebuked them for not knowing He had to be in His Father's house.

Root also raised concerns about controversy regarding LGBT ideology on set and among the cast, as well as apparent syncretistic tendencies among the creators, such as Jenkins claiming that Mormons and Trinitarian Christians "love the same Jesus." He later walked back that remark, claiming it was taken out of context while asserting that "The Chosen" is "not even .1 percent" influenced by Mormon theology.

In his Tuesday statement, Jenkins pushed back against those unhappy with how the angels are portrayed in the teaser and suggested those desiring "certainty" in their opinions are being idolatrous.

"The number of people who have formed a strong conclusion about what this clip is, how it's edited, and most humorously, what supernatural beings are supposed to look like, is astonishing. Some folks are even incorrect about what they're actually seeing in the clip; and yet they're certain," he wrote. "Their opinion about the look, style, race, and gender of supernatural beings is presented as fact. It's incredible the number of 'experts' who've emerged."

"Anyone who claims they know what all supernatural beings look like, or who claims they know what they're looking at in this clip without having seen the episode, should be seriously questioned. Or ignored," he later continued. "I have no idea how accurate my depiction of supernatural beings (I show multiple) is this season. I just know the majority of the initial haters have even less of an idea than I do. But certainty is their idol."

Jenkins encouraged viewers to debate, but urged them "to prioritize curiosity as you do it."

The Bible generally portrays angels as mysterious spiritual beings who occasionally assume physical form indistinguishable from men, such as the angels who visited Lot before destroying Sodom after its inhabitants attempted to rape them in Genesis 19. Angels are also depicted in the prophetic literature as resembling animals, wheels or winged creatures covered with eyes, such as the cherubim and seraphim in Isaiah, Ezekiel and Revelation.

The epistle to the Hebrews suggests angels continue to assume human form, exhorting Christians in Hebrews 13:2 to show hospitality because "some have entertained angels unawares."