Bart Millardcouldn't have imagined any of this.
In 2001, the MercyMe frontman released his rousing anthem "I Can Only Imagine," which is now the best-selling Christian single of all time with more than 5 million copies sold.
The song went on to inspirea 2018 movie of the same name, which chronicled Millard's tumultuous upbringing and grossed a staggering $86 million worldwide on a $7 million budget.
Eight years later, he's back with "I Can Only Imagine 2" (now in theaters), a faith-based drama that tells the next chapter of Millard's story on and off stage.
"I don't know if there's a lot of sequels to biopics, so I didn't know I would be here again," Millard says with a laugh. "As a songwriter in a band, it's intoxicating any time an audience connects with your story. You realize, 'Oh, man, we're not alone in this.' Sadly, we all have suffering in common."
Millard, 53, and the film's co-director, Andrew Erwin, recently called USA TODAY to tell us about the emotional real-life inspiration behind "I Can Only Imagine 2":
Is 'I Can Only Imagine 2' a true story?
The sequel picks up shortly after the events of the first movie, as Bart Millard (played byJohn Michael Finley) is riding high on the chart-topping success of MercyMe's "I Can Only Imagine." But his world caves in when he and his wife (Sophie Skelton) receive the devastating diagnosis that their young son, Sam, has been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.
As a teenager, Sam (Sammy Dell) is eager to pursue his own musical ambitions. But Bart is hypervigilant about his son's fragile health and tries to discourage him from joining the band on the road.
"Sam's had over 60,000 shots in his lifetime," Millard says. "He's only 24 now, and he hasn't had an actual shot in the last seven or eight years because technology's advanced so far. So that's a lot in a small amount of time."
At screenings of the movie, Millard has met other parents of children with chronic illnesses.
"They're like, 'It never ends. Every day is hard,' " Millard recalls. "Gosh, there's so many struggles. I'd heard that the divorce rate is pretty high among people with kids with chronic illnesses. I get it. My greatest achievement is that I'm still married and she's still amazing. But man, those early years were hard. Sam was diagnosed the same week we brought home our second child, Gracie, who was born six weeks premature. It was a little chaotic."
Who was Bart Millard's father?
The first "I Can Only Imagine" movie traced Bart's relationship with his abusive dad, Arthur (Dennis Quaid), who found God before his death from pancreatic cancer in 1991. Arthur only appears in flashbacks in the sequel, but his presence looms heavily over Bart.
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In trying to be the good father that Arthur wasn't, Bart struggles to balance caregiving for his son with the demands of touring. Sam, meanwhile, feels that his dad is both overbearing and neglectful of his music dreams, and tensions run high between them.
More:Milo Ventimiglia talks filming weeks after losing home, welcoming child
"It was trial and error. I didn't have the best owner's manual to go by," Millard says. "As far as being a parent, the best advice I was ever given was: If you ever just sit around and worry whether you're a good parent or not, you're probably a pretty good parent.'"
A lot of times, "we feel like we've got to get it perfect," Erwin adds. "Showing up is nine-tenths of the battle. That was the beautiful gift that was given in this story: just being present."
How did Tim Timmons' cancer battle inspire 'Even If?'
The film also charts Bart's friendship with fellow Christian singerTim Timmons(Milo Ventimiglia), who opened forMercyMeon tour. As the movie depicts, Tim was diagnosed with an incurable cancer in 2001 and told that he only had five years to live.
Tim's terminal diagnosis, coupled with Sam's health problems, inspired the two men to write "Even If," a meditative anthem about clinging to faith and finding strength in God during the hardest of times. Released in 2017, the song is MercyMe's biggest hit after "I Can Only Imagine."
"If 'I Can Only Imagine' is about hope for tomorrow, 'Even If' is hope for today," Erwin says. "Tim is still alive and kicking, 25 years after he was given five years to live. To those of us who have known Tim behind the scenes, he's this silent, unsung hero that never craved the spotlight. And every morning, he writes an 'X' on his wrist to say, 'Thank you for another day.' "
Will there be an 'I Can Only Imagine 3?'
MercyMe put out their 12thstudio album, "Wonder & Awe," last summer, and Millard's son continues to release his own music under Sam Wesley.
"He's a beautiful soul," Millard says. "I usually keep my mouth shut and hear other people rave about him, which makes me the proudest dad on the planet. He's a talented, been-through-hell kid."
So now with two movies under their belts, would the band ever consider a trilogy?
"Let's not get that far ahead yet!" Millard exclaims. "Let's see how this one does. I would have said there'd never be a second one."
But if there is, "we joke that it's going to be with lasers and in space," Erwin adds. "You never know!"
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:'I Can Only Imagine 2' true story – What's real in the MercyMe sequel?
