The thought for Netflix’s new movie “Ruth & Boaz” didn’t come from Hollywood or on a regular basis life—it got here from the pulpit.
DeVon Franklin, who will not be solely a movie producer but additionally a minister and motivational speaker, informed Selection he first obtained the concept after preaching a sermon on singleness and reflecting on the enduring energy of the biblical couple’s story.
“I noticed how the themes of affection, loyalty, and religion nonetheless resonate at present, and I needed to discover a strategy to make them relatable,” he informed the outlet.
Franklin, who finalized a divorce from actress Meagan Good in 2022 and remarried earlier this yr to celeb health coach Maria Castillo, has lengthy spoken about how religion shapes each his private {and professional} life.
He added, “As I used to be finding out, [Ruth and Boaz’s story] helped me perceive what it means to be single and dedicated to service and a function higher than your self.”
“Love is probably the most highly effective pressure within the universe,” he continued. “Love all the time wins. Keep open to like. Once we’re open, love can exit and are available in. If we have now love, we have now every thing that we want.”
“Ruth & Boaz,” starring Serayah McNeill as Ruth, Tyler Lepley as Boaz, and Phylicia Rashad as Naomi, with a particular look by Babyface, debuted on Netflix on September 26, 2025, within the platform’s prime spot. By the top of its opening weekend, it had maintained the No. 1 spot, in keeping with FlixPatrol, with Babyface himself celebrating the milestone on-line. The discharge additionally marks the primary mission in Franklin’s new partnership with Tyler Perry to create extra faith-based content material for Netflix, a part of a technique to convey religious tales to wider audiences.
In scripture, the story unfolds within the Previous Testomony’s Ebook of Ruth, a brief however enduring textual content. After shedding her husband, Ruth refuses to desert her mother-in-law, Naomi, declaring, “The place you go, I’ll go.” The 2 girls journey to Bethlehem, the place Ruth works the fields to offer for them. There she meets Boaz, a landowner moved by her loyalty and resilience. In a society the place widows had little safety, Boaz affords Ruth security and honor. Their relationship deepens till Ruth approaches him on the “threshing ground,” and Boaz responds by pledging to marry her and redeem her household line. Their union is remembered as one among scripture’s strongest tales of devotion and windfall, with Ruth and Boaz turning into ancestors of King David.
On display, these themes are reframed for a contemporary viewers. McNeill’s Ruth is an aspiring musician who relocates to Tennessee after tragedy, whereas Lepley’s Boaz is a person whose religion and steadiness form the folks round him. Rashad anchors the story as Naomi, and Babyface lends a musical presence.
For McNeill, the function was a pure match. She mentioned she had lengthy recognized the biblical story and was drawn to the fashionable Ruth’s plight, particularly as she navigates the music business and falls in love.
“You by no means know the place issues are going to steer you,” she informed Selection. “While you’re open sufficient to obtain and let your guard down, you notice it’s a must to cease combating your self. I’ve to cease combating divinity. I’ve to provide in. There’s one thing lovely on the opposite aspect of that.”
In the meantime, Lepley admitted that he wasn’t as acquainted with Ruth and Boaz earlier than he discovered himself connecting with the character by means of his personal religious stroll. Specifically, his enduring dedication to religion.
“All we have now is God on the finish of the day,” he mentioned.
