(Left) Mel Gibson in ‘Monster Summer’. Photo: Pastime Pictures. (Right) Jim Caviezel as Jesus Christ in 2004’s ‘The Passion of the Christ’. Photo: Icon Productions.
Preview:
- Mel Gibson is aiming to shoot the ‘Passion of the Christ’ sequel in 2026.
- Randall Wallace wrote the script.
- Jim Caviezel appears likely to return as Jesus.
‘The Passion of the Christ,’ Mel Gibson’s 2004 take on Jesus’ final days on earth up to his crucifixion, became the largest-grossing independent film of all time with a worldwide box office of nearly $612 million.
Though the film was considered anti-Semitic due to its implication that Jewish leaders were to blame for Jesus’ death, that controversy did little to halt its popularity, with Church leaders buying out theaters to screen the movie to congregants.
Gibson has long talked about wanting to make a sequel to that movie, possibly a two-part epic, but despite spending years developing it has seemed no closer to actually rolling cameras.
A sequel to The Passion of the Christ, focusing on the events that occurred in the three days between the crucifixion and resurrection when Jesus Christ descended… Read the Plot
Now, though, talking to Joe Rogan on his podcast, Gibson says that he’s hoping to start shooting the new movie in 2026, and that it is currently called ‘The Resurrection of the Christ.’
When Rogan asked who would be starring as Jesus, Gibson told him that ‘Passion’ actor Jim Caviezel would be back in the lead role, with digital de-aging technology employed to wipe 20 years from Caviezel’s looks.
There was chatter last September about Gibson being spotted scouting locations in Malta and the Southern Italian region of Puglia where he visited various rural locations, including the ancient towns of Ginosa, Gravina Laterza and Altamura, but the director himself didn’t comment.
Related Article: Mel Gibson and Mason Thames Talk New Family Film ‘Monster Summer’
What did Mel Gibson say about the ‘Resurrection of the Christ’ script?
Jim Caviezel as Jesus Christ in 2004’s ‘The Passion of the Christ’. Photo: Icon Productions.
Gibson has been at work on the sequel’s script with Randall Wallace, who has written the likes of ‘Braveheart’ for the director and did uncredited screenplay polishes on ‘Hacksaw Ridge.’
This was what Gibson told Rogan about the script so far:
“There’s a lot required because it’s an acid trip. I’ve never read anything like this. My brother and I and Randall all sort of congregated on this. So there’s some good heads put together, but there’s some crazy stuff. And I think in order to really tell the story properly you have to really start with the fall of the angels, which means you’re in another place, you’re in another realm. You need to go to hell.”
That lines up with some of what Gibson has said in the past, including in this interview with the National Catholic Register in which he said:
“It’s not a linear narrative. You have to juxtapose the central event that I’m trying to tell with everything else around it in the future, in the past, and in other realms, and that’s kind of getting a little sci-fi out there.”
What else is happening with Mel Gibson?
Mel Gibson in ‘Monster Summer’. Photo: Pastime Pictures.
Next up for Gibson cinematically is his latest directing gig, action thriller ‘Flight Risk,’ which stars Mark Wahlberg. It’ll land in theaters on January 24th.
Acting-wise, Gibson is part of the cast for action pic ‘Mermaid,’ which sees a single father looking to protect his daughter from the corrupt world around them.
And in real life, terms, the actor/filmmaker recently faced the challenge of losing one of his homes in the wildfires ravaging the hills above Los Angeles.
Here’s what he told NewsNation’s Elizabeth Vargas Reports:
“I thought ‘I wonder if my place is still there’, but when I got home, sure enough, it wasn’t there. I’ve never seen such a complete burn. It is obviously devastating, it’s emotional. I lived there for about 14, 15 years so it was home to me. I had a lot of personal things there that I can’t get back –– everything from photographs to files to just personal things that I had from over the years. That can all be replaced. These are only things. And the good news is that those in my family and those I love are all well, and we’re all happy and healthy and out of harm’s way.”
What has Mel Gibson said about ‘The Last Temptation of Christ’?
Willem Dafoe as Jesus in director Martin Scorsese’s ‘The Last Temptation of Christ’. Photo: Universal Pictures.
While ‘The Passion’ is Gibson’s most prominent Jesus-themed cinematic experience, he nearly showed up in another, years earlier.
As part of the Rogan podcast, Gibson revealed that, while in London and sick with food poisoning in the late 1980s, he was contacted by Martin Scorsese about starring in ‘The Last Temptation of Christ.’
This is what Gibson recalls:
“While I was there, Scorsese calls the room and says, ‘Come here, I want to talk to you.’ I go and I talk to Martin and he’s in his room and all the windows, the screens, he’s drawn on. He’s got 18 different TVs going on at the same time in this dark room. He’s talking to me about ‘The Last Temptation of Christ’ and he wants me to play Jesus and I said, ‘Wow. I’m not doing that.’ ”
Still, Gibson goes on to say that he’s happy that Willem Dafoe took the role on instead, admitting:
“He did something that I think nobody else did and I think he pulled it off because I totally believed it. He emptied himself out. He invited something else in. He meditated and let Christ in.”
When will ‘The Resurrection of the Christ’ be in theaters?
Though it has been in development since at least 2016, Gibson’s new movie has yet to secure
(L to R) Mason Thames and Mel Gibson star in ‘Monster Summer’.