Two different characters in The Forge (Cynthia and Elizabeth) look just like actress Priscilla Shirer, making viewers question if she really has a twin sister like in the movie.
After premiering in theaters on August 23, 2024, The Forge was added to the Netflix streaming library on December 21. As of writing, it is in Netflix's Top 10 movies on the platform.
The film, directed by the Kendrick brothers (Facing the Giants, Fireproof, Courageous), is set in the same continuity as War Room, another faith-based film that features some of the same characters in The Forge.
It is not the only major Christian movie to be released late in 2024, as The Chosen creator Dallas Jenkins released his own Christmas movie, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever in November.
Does Priscilla Shirer Have a Twin Sister?
In The Forge, one of the main characters is Cynthia Wright, the mother of Isaiah. She is portrayed by Priscilla Shirer.
However, Shirer's character has a twin sister in the film named Elizabeth Jordan. They are identical twins, meaning the two look alike.
Cynthia having a twin sister in The Forge sparked some interest among viewers, with many wondering if Shirer herself has a twin sister and if Shirer or her sister played Cynthia's twin.
Shirer does have a sister named Chrystal Evans Hurst, who is a bestselling author, but she is not Shirer's twin sister.
In The Forge, Shirer plays both Cynthia and Elizabeth, meaning that she plays her own twin and shares the screen with herself in some scenes using a little bit of movie magic.
For example, one of the most prominent scenes in the movie is when Elizabeth comes to visit Cynthia at the latter's hair salon. While there, they talk about Isaiah and then pray for him together.
In this scene, while it looks like there are two actual twins in the shot, Shirer is playing both roles.
In an interview with 96five, Shirer revealed how they brought the scene to life, explaining that someone special to her was used as a stand-in so she could properly act across from a real person instead of just talking to thin air:
"Actually, my brother's wife, so my sister-in-law, who is one of my closest friends, we're actually very similar in stature, so they brought her in for a week of filming and whenever I was in the scene with my twin, the backside of the twin sister is her."
Shirer continued explaining how they got the final cut to look the way it did, revealing that the magic of filmmaking made everything look flawless in the final cut:
"So we just had to film everything in opposite directions and then using the wonders of AI, they were able to put my face on her body when we're in the screens together."
In a separate interview, this one with Vision Christian Media, Shirer talked more about bringing Elizabeth into The Forge after that character had been established in 2015's War Room:
"Well, that is one of the surprises of the film that we hope will be endearing to people because Elizabeth, back in the 'War Room' movie, the main thing that she and her husband were arguing about was the phone calls with her sister, her sister kept asking her for money, to borrow money because her husband wasn't actually being a provider and a protector."
Shirer revealed how the Kendrick brothers came up with the idea of making Elizabeth Cynthia's twin sister, saying it was more of a "what if" moment in the writing process:
So, you hear about this random sister in 'War Room' is you pay close attention. It's not a major storyline, but it's there. So, when they were writing this film, they thought, 'What if this is the twin sister of Elizabeth?' So that's how that happened."
In a bit of promotional footage for The Forge shared via the movie's official Instagram page, Shirer revealed her initial thoughts after she was told that she would be reprising her role as Elizabeth on-screen and that she would be the twin sister of the character she was already playing in the film:
"When the Kendrick brothers first reached out to me and told me about this idea they were having, my first thought was, 'Mind blown. How do you all come up with this stuff?"
Is The Forge the Start of a Universe?
One of the most popular methods of storytelling across film in the modern age is having multiple movies connect with one another. In the past, sequels and a few spin-offs have been popular, but franchises like the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) have proved that fans are interested in seeing dozens of movies connect.
The Kendrick brothers have made dozens of Christian films over the years, but none of them have ever really connected and have especially not been marketed as taking place in the same continuity.
Moving forward, it is possible that some of their future films could start following a core thread, especially if viewers seem to appreciate that with The Forge.
As mentioned, Elizabeth is not the only character in The Forge that appears in War Room. Others, such as Tony and Danielle Jordan, were also in the 2015 flick. This is similar to franchises like the MCU bringing back notable characters from past projects in upcoming films or shows.
So, in the future, it is possible that fans could see some characters from past Kenrdick brothers' films make it back to the big screen.
The Forge is streaming on Netflix.
