''Left Behind'' is an American Christian thriller

film series A film series or movie series (also referred to as a film franchise or movie franchise) is a collection of related films in succession that share the same fictional universe, or are marketed as a series. This article explains what film series are ...

based on the ''

Left Behind ''Left Behind'' is a multimedia franchise that started with a series of 16 bestselling religious novels by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins. It focuses on a seven-year conflict between the Tribulation Force, an underground network of converts, a ...

'' book series by

Tim LaHaye Timothy Francis LaHaye (April 27, 1926 – July 25, 2016) was an American Baptist evangelical Christian Minister of religion, minister who wrote more than 85 books, both fiction and non-fiction, including the ''Left Behind (series), Left Behind ...

and

Jerry B. Jenkins Jerry Bruce Jenkins (born September 23, 1949) is an American writer. He is best known for the ''Left Behind'' series, written with Tim LaHaye. Jenkins has written more than 200 books, in multiple genres, such as biography, self-help, romance, m ...

. The series consists of five films and two spin-offs. The first three films were produced by

Cloud Ten Pictures ''Cloud Ten Pictures'' is a Canadian film production and distribution company located in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada that specialized in producing "end times" Christian films. Overview Cloud Ten was formed by brothers Peter LaLonde and P ...

and directed by

Vic Sarin Victor Sarin (born 1945) is an Indian-born Canadian/American film director, producer and screenwriter. His work as a cinematographer includes ''Partition'', ''Margaret's Museum'', '' Whale Music'', '' Nowhere to Hide'', ''Norman's Awesome Exper ...

('' Left Behind: The Movie''), Bill Corcoran (''Left Behind II: Tribulation Force''), and

Craig R. Baxley Craig Redding Baxley (born October 20, 1949) is an American director, stunt coordinator, stunt performer and occasional actor. He is best known for his work in the action and thriller genres. Beginning his career as a stunt performer, he was h ...

('' Left Behind: World at War'').

Kirk Cameron Kirk Thomas Cameron (born October 12, 1970) is an American actor and evangelist. He first gained fame as a teen actor playing Mike Seaver on the ABC sitcom ''Growing Pains'' (1985–1992), a role for which he was nominated for two Golden Glob ...

stars as Buck Williams, along with Brad Johnson,

Janaya Stephens Janaya Stephens is a Canadian film actress prominently featured in the ''Left Behind (series), Left Behind'' series of films as Chloe Steele. She appeared on the TV series ''Flashpoint (TV series), Flashpoint,'' playing the character Sophie Lane. ...

, Clarence Gilyard Jr., Gordon Currie,

Chelsea Noble Chelsea Noble is an American actress. She is known for her role as Kate McDonnell on the television sitcom ''Growing Pains'' (1989–1992). She is married to her former ''Growing Pains'' co-star, Kirk Cameron. She is the sister-in-law of former ...

, Colin Fox, and

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

winner

Louis Gossett Jr. Louis Cameron Gossett Jr. (born May 27, 1936) is an American actor. Born in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City, He had his stage debut at the age of 17, in a school production of '' You Can't Take It with You.'' Shortly after he successfully ...

The films received mostly negative reviews from

critics A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as art, literature, music, cinema, theater, fashion, architecture, and food. Critics may also take as their subject social or governmen ...

, all three being criticized for their low production quality. The 2014 film ''

'' starring

Nicolas Cage Nicolas Kim Coppola (born January 7, 1964), known professionally as Nicolas Cage, is an American actor and film producer. Born into the Coppola family, he is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Screen Actors Gu ...

rebooted the series. It was followed by '' Left Behind: Rise of the Antichrist'' (2023), with an entirely different cast. Separately, '' Vanished – Left Behind: Next Generation'' (2016) tells the story of the Rapture from the perspective of a young group of protagonists. The franchise also had a real-time

mockumentary A mockumentary (a blend of ''mock'' and ''documentary''), fake documentary or docu-comedy is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events but presented as a documentary. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on c ...

film titled ''The Original Left Behind'' (1994), directed by Marjonneke Tjerkstra.

Films

Original series

*'' Left Behind: The Movie'' (2000) –

Direct to video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy was p ...

then theatrical *'' Left Behind II: Tribulation Force'' (2002) – Direct to video *'' Left Behind: World at War'' (2005) – Direct to video

Reboot

*''

'' (2014) – Theatrical *'' Left Behind: Rise of the Antichrist'' (2023) – Theatrical

Spin-off series

* '' Vanished – Left Behind: Next Generation'' (2016) – Theatrical

Mockumentary

* '' The Original Left Behind'' (1994) – Direct to video

Cast

References

Left Behind series Films about evangelicalism American film series Films based on works by Jerry B. Jenkins Films based on works by Tim LaHaye Christian apocalyptic films Cloud Ten Pictures films {{christian-film-stub