Tim Chey’s “sweeping, incredible” movie about Hawaiian history didn’t exactly come out like it was originally hyped, but the film is in the can and expected to be released later this year.

Heralded in preproduction as the biggest film ever about Hawaii, “The Islands” scored plenty of buzz here last summer as auditions were held for Native Hawaiian actors to portray King Kamehameha and Queen Lili‘uokalani in a motion picture described as a sweeping epic spanning more than a century: from the 1778 arrival of Capt. James Cook to the 1893 overthrow of Hawaii’s last monarch.

On his website, Chey even guaranteed he would not make the picture and return any investment unless he landed one of a list of 16 A-list actors for the part of Cook, including Tom Hanks, Daniel Day-Lewis, Liam Neeson, Anthony Hopkins and Kevin Costner.

In the end, the movie excluded Cook and focused on only one story in Hawaiian history — that of Hawaii island Chiefess Kapiolani, who in 1824 boldly defied Pele in a dramatic display of her new Christian faith and descended about 500 feet into the main vent of Halemaumau.

In an interview, Chey said a decision was made to create four movies, rather than one, in a move he compared to the multipart “Star Wars” franchise.

But he also admitted that making the other three will likely depend on how the first one does at the box office.

“Instead of putting all of our chips on the table, we decided to put some of our chips on the table,” he said. “If the box office is great, we’re going into production on the next one.”

Chey, however, was able to cast Academy Award-winner Mira Sorvino and veteran actor John Savage (“Deer Hunter,” “Hair,” “Salvador”) for the parts of missionaries.

It’s not surprising that the one story Chey decided to tell in “The Islands” conveys a Christian theme.

Chey, a Christian himself, has either written, directed or produced a dozen feature films, nearly all of which convey a religious message. They include the biblical tale “David and Goliath,” the religious-themed sports drama “Slamma Jamma” and “Final: The Rapture,” a movie about the biblical end of times.

On his website last summer, Chey said the faith-based market would support “The Islands” and he vowed to market to the segment heavily.

Asked about it last week, Chey said that while “The Islands” contains “a lot of faith” and will certainly appeal to a faith-based audience, he said the movie will be compelling to anyone who watches it.

“It’s for everyone,” he said. “It’s true and historical.”

A co-writing credit went to Umi Perkins, a Kamehameha Schools Hawaiian history teacher and University of Hawaii lecturer.

One of the reasons “The Islands” captured media attention last summer is because Chey was seeking Native Hawaiian actors in the wake of the whitewashing controversy that erupted over the filming of “Niihau,” with Caucasian actor Zach McGowan playing the lead role of Native Hawaiian hero Ben Kanahele.

Chey, who splits his time between Hawaii and Los Angeles, said more than 13,000 actors ended up submitting for “The Islands,” and that includes more than 800 Native Hawaiian actors during auditions in Hawaii, Los Angeles, New York, Toronto and Guam.

“There were 170 actors, and 98 percent of them were either Native Hawaiian or Polynesian,” he said.

Playing the role of Chiefess Kapiolani is newcomer Teuira Shanti Napa, a Cook Islander who was Miss South Pacific in 2013 and Miss Cook Islands in 2012. She is a student at Brigham Young University-Hawaii and a performer at the Polynesian Cultural Center.

“She beat out a lot of actors,” Chey said.

The film was shot over a period of four weeks in November at Kualoa Ranch.

“The weather was brutal at some points, very rainy,” Chey said. “I’ve got to really credit the crew. They didn’t let it disturb them, and the actors were wonderfully courageous.”

Sorvino, in the national spotlight recently after stepping forward to describe sexual harassment by producer Harvey Weinstein, posted lots of pictures on Instagram depicting her time in Hawaii, and she spoke highly of Savage and her local co-stars.

Last summer, the hype surrounding “The Islands” promised the creation of 2,000 jobs. But it was more like several hundred, Chey estimated, with more on the way it if becomes a hit.

The film will be submitted for consideration by the Cannes Film Festival and open in theaters in November, Chey said.

“It went magnificently well,” he said of the filming. “I’m proud of it. I think it has a shot at at least a couple of Oscars.”