Mark Burnett and Roma Downey producing 'Messiah' for Netflix

Nov. 17 (UPI) -- Mark Burnett and Roma Downey are producing Messiah, a contemporary, religious-themed, suspense drama slated to debut on Netflix in 2019.

No casting has been announced yet for the 10-part series, which was created by Michael Petroni, who wrote the first episode and will executive produce the rest of the show. James McTeigue -- of Sense8 and V for Vendetta fame -- is to direct the project.

"Messiah is a series that will have the audience asking big questions. What if someone showed up in 2018 amid strange occurrences and was thought to be the Messiah? What would society do? How would the media cover him? Would millions simply quit work? Could governments collapse?" Downey and Burnett said in a joint statement Thursday. "It's a series that could change everything."

"Messiah promises to be a fascinating series for viewers of every faith, and a thrilling drama filled with multi-layered characters set on a global stage," remarked Cindy Holland, vice president of original content for Netflix.

"Messiah will have every viewer asking the question, 'Is he or isn't he?' How you answer that question may reveal more about you than it does about the show. Messiah challenges us to examine what we believe and why," added Petroni, whose film credits include The Chronicles of Narnia: the Voyage of the Dawn Treader and The Book Thief.

Downey and Burnett have produced The Bible Series, Son of God and Ben Hur.