Left Behind Producer says he refused offers from major studios when making the film to maintain authenticity and says he and his team are ready to change things up by highlighting a subject that has been widely ignored in Hollywood.

It has been eight years since the last installment of the original LEFT BEHIND series was released. Now back with a bigger budget and an A list celebrity cast, the movie created after the book series will bring new life to a bigger audience.

This apocalyptic thriller was directed by Vic Armstrong and written by Paul LaLonde and John Patus. In a recent interview with The Blaze LaLonde opened up about his epic film, the cast and Hollywood.

"The reason to bring 'Left Behind' back is [two-fold]: one is to make it bigger and better, so that we can have a broader reach and a shot at a broader audience," he told the Blaze. "The first time we did it it was a straight to DVD production."

That in mind, LaLonde said he wanted a bigger movie with a better-known cast, and he and his team were able to accomplish just that. The star studded cast includes Nicolas Cage, playing the lead role of Rayford Steele, Chad Michael Murray playing the role of Buck Williams (Kirk Cameron in the original remake), television actress Lea Thompson, and actress/singer Jordan Sparks among many others.

"The second reason is that the first movie was based on the entire first book in the series, so a book this fat turned into a screen play with 57 plot points and no real time to get to know the characters," LaLonde continued. "And the quintessential event that triggers all of Bible prophecy is the rapture - and that got like three minutes of screen time in the first movie."

LaLonde believes that Hollywood has intentionally ignored this well-known theme because it is from the Bible. The film will focus on the hours immediately following the Rapture described in the Bible. The movie's website described that it will specifically concentrate on the first few hours and the chaos of the world in the wake of millions of people vanishing with no explanation.

"If the rapture was a Mayan prophecy there would be 20 Hollywood movies by now for $100 million each," LaLonde declared. "But because it's Bible prophecy, it hasn't been touched it hasn't been done and I've always wanted to see it on the big screen."

He and his team are preparing to do just that, and he is confident that the message will be brought across effectively.

 "I think a lot of the core Christian audience, I think they're going to be surprised at the clarity with which we presented the rapture," he went on to say. "I think people are expecting it to be completely buried and barely mentioned."

LaLonde is not afraid to bring a religious theme into the mainstream market because he says it is not difficult to explain it to those who may not understand.

"This is not very complicated. It really isn't," he said. "It's prophesied in the Bible and the Bible says that before the beginning of the tribulation which will be in the end times, which I have no doubt we are living in the end times so therefore it could happen tomorrow that the church is going to be called home and caught up in the air and taken to heaven and that's what this movie's about."

LaLonde said keeping control over the project was very important to them. Although his team had big offers from major studios, rather than sell out to Hollywood, he made the tasking decision to raise $16 million independently. The colossal mission successfully allowed him to keep control over the project and great quality film.

"People are afraid to invest in movies because most people who invest in movies lose their money," he explained. "Especially in the faith-based world, it's called a donation, not an investment."

The filmmaker believes people will be very pleased by the production value and the movie's feel, which he describes as not looking or feeling like many other faith-based films.

LaLonde says he really enjoyed working with the cast and crew. Their "no egotist policy" on set, really helped set the positive atmosphere that embraced the film's production process. He was especially pleased with Cage, whom he said brought his "A game," and actress Cassie Thomson, who plays Rayford's daughter.

"Everything about Cassie was perfect. It was a fabulous performance," he added. "She's very athletic and whatever the word is for tomboy, she can climb a tree and not look out of place. So she was just wonderful. She's got a great range. She's going to be a big star."

The release of the "Left Behind" movie was announced this week and is set for Oct. 3. Watch a clip of the cast and crew discussing the film below.