The forthcoming film version of Christian book The Shack is gathering marketing momentum. British director Stuart Hazeldine's adaptation of William P Young's multi-million-selling novel is scheduled to be released on March 3, 2017 in the US, with dates for other territories yet to be announced.
The newly-released theatrical poster for the film features an almost-identical building to that shown on the book's famous cover, with lead actors Octavia Spencer and Sam Worthington standing in the foreground. Worthington plays the novel's central character Mack Phillips, who visits the eponymous shack after a family tragedy leads him to question his life and beliefs, while Spencer plays one of the enigmatic Trinity of strangers he meets inside.
The book became an unlikely bestseller on its release in 2007, so far selling more than 18 million copies in 39 languages. The novel, which Young originally wrote for his friends and children, attracted some criticism from senior church figures such as Chuck Colson and then-Mars-Hill pastor Mark Driscoll for its unorthodox depiction of God. However it proved overwhelmingly popular with readers, many of whom reported it helped them to recover from their own personal tragedies.
The film, which has the tagline "you're never as alone as you think" also stars Radha Mitchell, Graham Greene and Tim McGraw.
