I Can Only Imagine 2

Rated M (for moderate violence)

In cinemas March 5; on streaming services later in 2026

Fans of modern Christian music would need to have lived under a rock for the past 20 years not to have heard of MercyMe – a US band whose songs of worship, praise and struggle have won a trophy cabinet of awards, with numerous platinum and gold sales.

Then there’s the 2018 biopic I Can Only Imagine, based on the earlier years of the band’s lead singer Bart Millard, and the restoration of his relationship with his abusive father Arthur, whose life was transformed by Jesus after a cancer diagnosis. 

The song of the same name, MercyMe’s biggest hit (a multi-platinum Dove Award winner) was written by Millard after his father’s death. In the first film, this song – along with Arthur’s eventual encouragement of his son’s dream for a career in music – formed the tear-inducing yet happy ending to a story of forgiveness and redemption.

So, how could such a film have a sequel? Could there really be an equally powerful story in Millard’s life through which God has worked?

As it happens, there is, and it can speak to any Christian who, amid their trust in Jesus, finds themselves adrift on a sea of pain and hardship. And to be frank, at some point in our faith journey that will be each one of us.

I Can Only Imagine 2 picks up some years after the first film. Bart Millard (John Michael Finley) and Shannon (Sophie Skelton) are now married with young kids. MercyMe is also a major success, and the band is about to begin a new tour. 

While on the road, however, Millard gets a desperate call from Shannon after their son Sam’s birthday party. He’s been rushed unresponsive to hospital, and to their distress they discover he has Type 1 diabetes; this means constant monitoring and daily insulin injections for the rest of his life.

Fast forward 10 years and the now-teenage Sam is very much over the injections, the blood sugar tests and the parental hovering – particularly by his dad. The two had a close relationship when Sam was little but now are virtual strangers under the same roof.

Sam now insists he’s able to monitor his blood sugar levels without help. Millard is more than sceptical but doesn’t know how to move forward. When it’s suggested Sam go with the band on its latest tour, to Millard’s surprise, Shannon agrees.

But things are very different this time around. MercyMe hasn’t had a big hit for a while and Millard feels the ongoing pressure of producing new songs for the band. At the same time, he struggles to balance the desire to keep Sam safe with allowing him room to make decisions for himself. 

The vibe on the bus is also different because MercyMe is taking a perennially cheerful support act Tim Timmons (Milo Ventimiglia) along for the ride. He and Sam strike up a friendship, and soon Sam is showing his own musical prowess alongside Tim onstage.

This all sounds pretty positive but, unsurprisingly, things don’t run smoothly for long. Without giving core elements of the story away for people who don’t know it, what happens on the tour challenges each of them to refocus their lives and faith. Shannon bluntly tells Millard he needs to reconnect with “the Jesus you sing about every night” and, with the help of a partly written song of Tim’s, he does so in the way he knows best: through music. 

I Can Only Imagine 2 is blessedly free from the toothache-sweet style of many Christian movies. Sure, I could wish the band called each other “bro” a bit less often, but once you put aside the gigs and the crowds, these people are simply grappling with the messiness of life like the rest of us, relearning each day what it means to trust in the sovereignty of God.

The MercyMe song that came out of this period of Millard’s life, “Even If”, is a raw and honest prayer about failure, the burden of ongoing hardship, and the determination to hold fast to God – more than that, to live a life of gratitude for our salvation in Jesus – even if he chooses not to take those burdens away.

And we’ve all been there. Whether the hardship takes the form of physical illness, struggles with mental health, emotional betrayal or financial difficulty, we can all recognise it. And it hurts.

This film wants to remind every Christian that our God will never abandon us. That no matter how deep and dark the valley, we stand secure in his strength. Or as Tim Timmons puts it, “God is in the fire. And it’s beautiful”.