Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ” sequel will begin production this summer in Rome, Italy – more than 21 years after the mega-hit biblical drama premiered in theaters.
Filming of the long-awaited sequel, titled “The Resurrection of the Christ,” is set to start in August at Rome’s Cinecittà Studios, Variety reported on Friday, citing comments that CEO Manuela Cacciamani made during an interview with the Italian financial newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore.
Most of “The Passion of the Christ” was filmed at Cinecittà Studios and the sequel will also share another shooting location with the 2004 movie – the ancient city of Matera in southern Italy. Additional filming will take place in rural towns across the region, including Altamura, Ginosa and Gravina Laterza, per Variety.
Gibson has previously confirmed that Jim Caviezel will reprise his role as Jesus Christ. Maia Morgenstern, who played Jesus’ mother Mary in the first movie, and Francesco De Vito, who portrayed his disciple Peter, may also return, according to IMDb.
“The Passion of the Christ” became a major blockbuster when it debuted in theaters, earning $611 million against a $30 million budget, and it is still the second highest-grossing domestic R-rated movie of all time.
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The movie also received nominations for best cinematography, best original score and best makeup at the 77th Academy Awards in 2005.
The film sparked widespread controversy upon its release due to its graphic depiction of Jesus’ suffering and crucifixion. Critics also raised questions about the movie’s biblical and historical accuracy. In addition, “The Passion of the Christ” was accused of being antisemitic due to its portrayals of Jewish leaders and their roles in Jesus’ death.
However, the public interest that was generated by the controversies surrounding the movie has also been credited with contributing to its success, and PR expert Steve Honig told Fox News Digital that history may repeat itself with the sequel.
“Moviegoers will be curious about the film and that may be enough to get them to see the movie, or at least read the reviews and let that guide them,” Honig said. “At the end of the day, and ironically, it may be controversy over the film that drives people into the theater.”
Despite achieving massive success as both an actor and director, Gibson himself has been embroiled in a number of controversies over the years due to legal troubles and inflammatory statements he made both publicly and in leaked conversations.
Two years after “The Passion of the Christ” was released, Gibson notoriously unleashed an antisemitic tirade on a Jewish law enforcement officer when he was arrested for driving under the influence in July 2006.
He later apologized to the Jewish community for his “vitriolic and harmful words” that he said were “blurted out in a moment of insanity.” The “Conspiracy Theory” star subsequently entered rehab.
In 2010, Gibson faced backlash again over leaked voicemails in which he could be heard using racist and misogynistic language directed at then-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva. Gibson entered a “no contest” plea to a misdemeanor charge of domestic battery against her the following year.
Gibson’s career declined in the wake of the scandals, but he mounted a comeback with 2016’s “Hacksaw Ridge.” The World War II movie, which was Gibson’s first directorial outing in 10 years, earned six Academy Award nominations, winning two.
Gibson previously received the best director and best picture award for 1995’s “Braveheart,” in which he also starred. The historical drama received 10 total nominations.
Honig told Fox News Digital that the success of “The Resurrection of the Christ” may hinge on whether Gibson has rehabilitated his image in the eyes of the public.
“The question here is, has Mel Gibson gotten through all the controversy that has surrounded him for so long? In some ways, time does heal all wounds, however, in other ways, it’s hard for many people to forgive and forget,” he said.
Honig continued, “We’re living in a very fragmented society right now so there will likely be a strong segment of the population who embrace the film and others who will push it aside.”
Gibson, who was recently named a special ambassador to Hollywood by President Trump, first confirmed that he was working on a sequel to “The Passion of the Christ” in 2016.
“And you know, it’s not the ‘Passion 2.’ It’s called ‘The Resurrection,'” Gibson told evangelist Greg Laurie at SoCal Harvest, via IndieWire.
While “The Passion of the Christ” followed the last 12 hours of Jesus’ life leading up to the crucifixion, Gibson said the sequel will focus on his resurrection.
“Of course, that’s a very big subject and it needs to be looked at because we don’t want to just do a simple rendering of it – you know, read what happened,” the actor added.
At the time, “The Passion of the Christ” screenwriter Randall Wallace told The Hollywood Reporter that “there’s a lot more story to tell.”
“The evangelical community considers ‘The Passion’ the biggest movie ever out of Hollywood, and they kept telling us that they think a sequel will be even bigger,” Wallace said.
Over the years, Gibson and Caviezel dropped hints about what fans can expect from “The Resurrection of the Christ.”
“It’s more than [the] single event [in the title], it’s an amazing event,” Gibson said during a November 2016 appearance on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”
“And to underpin that with the things around it is really the story,” he continued. “To sort of enlighten what that means. It’s not just about the event; it’s not just some chronological telling of just that event. That could be boring, and you think, ‘Oh, we read that.’”
In a 2020 FOX Nation interview, Caviezel told Fox News contributor Raymond Arroyo that he had seen the “fifth draft” of the movie’s screenplay.
“It’s going to be a masterpiece. It’s gonna be the biggest film in world history, I believe it will be based on what I feel in my heart,” Caviezel shared.
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“It’s so imperative in this time. These films can’t be made now,” he added, suggesting that the film industry overlooks biblical films. “The films they make are Marvel Comics movies. You’ll see Superman. You won’t see Jesus… I got to play the greatest superhero there ever was.”
In July 2023, Caviezel shared an update on “The Resurrection” and teased that the movie could be more than one part.
“It will be the biggest film in history,” he predicted during an interview with Ormi. “It might be two films. Could be three, but I think it’s two.”
During a January appearance on “The Joe Rogan Experience,” Gibson reflected on the challenges that he faced while making “The Passion,” which he self-financed through his company Icon Productions.
“There was a lot of opposition to it,” Gibson recalled. “I think if you ever hit on this subject matter, you’re going to get people going.”
He continued, “It’s a big subject matter, and my contention was, when I was making it, it was like, you’re making this film. And the idea was that we’re all responsible for this, that his sacrifice was for all mankind, and for all our ills and all the things in our fallen nature. It was a redemption.”
Gibson also shared details about “The Resurrection” and the themes that the movie will explore.
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“I’m going to try and tackle this question,” he said. “That there are big realms, spiritual realms. There’s good, there’s evil, and they are slugging it out for the souls of mankind. And my question is, ‘Why are we even important, little old, flawed humanity? Why are we important in that process where the big realms are slugging it out over us?’”
“And I think there’s bigger things at play here,” Gibson continued. “And institutions that purport to touch on the divine are necessarily going to be affected by that slugfest that’s going on between good and evil.”
Gibson explained that he wrote the script with his brother Donal Gibson and Wallace over the last seven years.
“There’s a lot required because it’s an acid trip. I’ve never read anything like it,” he told Rogan. “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,” he continued. “You need to go to hell. You need to go to Sheol.”
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“You got to have his origin,” Gibson added. “I have ideas about how to do that and how to evoke things about to depict that. I’ve been thinking about that for a long time. It’s going to require a lot of planning. I’m not sure I can pull it off. It’s super ambitious, but I’m going to take a crack at it.”
“It’s about trying to find a way in that’s not cheesy or obvious. It’s almost like a magic trick,” he said. “It took a long time to write. It’s very ambitious. It goes from the fall of the angels to the death of the last apostle.”
Gibson confirmed that he plans for Caviezel to reprise his role as Jesus. However, he noted that de-aging and CGI techniques will be needed because the movie is set over the three days after the events of “The Passion” but more than 20 years have passed since the first film.
The director explained that the movie’s dialogue will likely be in English, unlike “The Passion,” which was entirely in Aramaic, Hebrew and Latin with subtitles.
“I don’t know that you can do it in a foreign language because the concepts are too difficult now,” Gibson said.
Doug Eldridge of Achilles PR, shared his thoughts on the likelihood of the success of “The Resurrection,” telling Fox News Digital that Gibson’s interview with Rogan was “really insightful.”
“He described the opposition to the concept behind ‘The Passion,’ as well as Hollywood’s reluctance to embrace it, even after it was a runaway hit,” Eldrige said. “The first time around, he took the most incredible story – but also, the most difficult to portray – and he did it in a brutally beautiful way.”
He continued, “To follow up on something like that would be like following an A+ on a test in grade school; there’s no way you can surpass it, the best you can possibly do is equal it, and even then, that’s a heavy lift and a tall order.”
“For comparison, ‘Gladiator’ was one of the most acclaimed films of all time: incredible acting, beautiful score, amazing story, and a perfect ending. What did they do? They made a sequel 24 years later and it bombed. That’s not to say Gibson’s sequel will suffer the same fate, but it’s hard to follow a ‘best in class’ production with a sequel that meets audience expectations,” Eldridge added.
“That said, if anyone can do it, it’s Mel Gibson.”
