Limbless Evangelist Nick Vujicic and Wife Kanae Pregnant With Second Child; Full-Length Film Also in Works

Feb 05, 2015 11:58 AM EST

Nick Vujicic Family
Nick Vujicic with his wife Kanae and son Kiyoshi, who is shown sporting a shirt that says ''Most Awesome Big Brother.'' (Facebook/Nick Vujicic)

Christian motivational speaker Nick Vujicic announced Tuesday that his wife, Kanae, was pregnant with their second child.

The surprising development, which he posted on Facebook, featured two pictures of his family celebrating the news. Vujicic's son, Kiyoshi, had a message on his shirt to share on the social network.

"What's that on Kiyoshi's shirt??" Vujicic wrote. "Indeed Kiyoshi will be the MOST AWESOME BIG BROTHER!!! We [are] roughly twelve weeks pregnant!!"

Vujicic then thanked the Lord "for this precious and amazing gift and blessing." He also thanked his Facebook followers "for your love, prayers and support."

Happy baby news aside, Vujicic, who was born without arms or legs, was the star of a popular short film unveiled in 2009 entitled "The Butterfly Circus." According to Dave McNary of Variety, a full movie version of that story is in the works.

"Court Five's Jane Fleming and Mark Ordesky will produce a feature film adaptation of the popular short film 'The Butterfly Circus,'" McNary wrote.

McNary reported that the feature project for the full-length film is written by Josh and Rebekah Wiegel; the director role will go to Josh. The Wiegels will also produce the film in addition to Court Five.

According to Variety, Fleming and Ordesky are best known for working at New Line, and Ordesky was an executive producer in "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy. They were also executive producers on the ABC show "The Quest."

"'The Butterfly Circus' is a magical exploration of the transformative power of hope, love and redemption," Ordesky and Fleming said. "Its vast global audience of fans, which includes the faith and values community that so strongly supported films like 'Unbroken' and 'The Blind Side,' creates a powerful foundation for the feature almost unheard of for a film not based on a best-selling book or established brand."

McNary described the overall plot of the 2009 film, which starred the famous Christian motivational speaker.

"'The Butterfly Circus' centers on a renowned circus troupe traveling through the devastated American landscape at the height of the Great Depression," McNary wrote. "When the circus discovers a man without limbs being exploited at a carnival sideshow, he decides to join the troupe."

McNary reported that the short film has been streamed 40 million times and continues to grow by one million views monthly since 2009. It has also won three dozen festival awards.

"It's been so rewarding to hear how the story is resonating and bringing encouragement to people of all ages and walks of life," Rebekkah Weigl said. "I believe people are longing for stories that bring hope."

According to Variety, fans have subtitled and dubbed "The Butterfly Circus" into 25 languages. While casting is underway, the feature film is expected to start shooting in late 2015.