Fox's new musical The Passion has just found its Jesus and Judas.
According to Deadline, Jencarlos Canela has been cast as Jesus Christ in the upcoming live musical event from Tyler Perry. Canela currently stars opposite Eva Longoria on the NBC comedy Telenovela. He has also been a regular on several actual telenovelas, including Falling Angel.
Also cast in The Passion is musician Chris Daughtry, who will be portraying Judas in the production. Daughtry placed fourth on American Idol's fifth season and his rock band has sold over eight million albums worldwide. He'll be joining Trisha Yearwood, who plays Mary, and Prince Royce, who plays Peter.
The Passion is written by Peter Barsocchini (High School Musical) and will use song to take viewers through the last hours of Jesus' life as told in the Bible, although it is set in the present day, as we previously reported. Music was arranged by executive producer Adam Anders (Glee). The special will be broadcast live from New Orleans on Sunday, March 20 (Palm Sunday).