He said he is thrilled to be working on an epic piece of LDS filmmaking and to work with what he termed to be the "finest ensemble cast put together" for such a film. (Of the first film's major cast, only Tiffany Dupont will be replaced, as Sera Bastian takes over the role of Lydia McBride.)

Van Wagenen added that he believes he can make a film that is accessible to both LDS and non-LDS audiences, which may help the films become more theatrically successful.

However, Van Wagenen and Swofford noted that there is certain material in the books — violent content — that could lead to the films being rated PG-13.

Swofford said that under no circumstances will they be R-rated, however. He's leaving it to Van Wagenen to sensitively depict this sometimes "dark, tumultuous . . . and violent period" in LDS history.

No distributor is in place at this point (Excel, which is now owned by Deseret Book, released the first film), but Miller and Swofford are already eying possible release dates.

If possible, they'd like to open the second film around the same time period as its predecessor, which premiered the day before Thanksgiving (in 2004). And if post-production goes well, the third film could be released six months later.

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E-mail: jeff@desnews.com