LOS ANGELES — In the second century, as the canonical Gospels were being copied and circulated throughout the Roman Empire, another text about the life of Jesus was simultaneously spreading. Although the Infancy Gospel of Thomas didn’t make it into the New Testament, it remained popular among Christians for centuries.

When filmmaker Lotfy Nathan was introduced to the apocryphal text about Jesus’ childhood by his history-loving father, he immediately began poring over it as a springboard for what would eventually become “The Carpenter’s Son,” the supernatural thriller starring Nicolas Cage and opening in theaters Friday.

“The thought gave me chills,” recalled the writer and director, who was raised Coptic Orthodox. “The novelty of this, in a way, being an origin story that hadn’t been tol

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