TORONTO – Twenty years ago, Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ earned $83 million in its opening weekend, the second highest rated-R movie return ever, behind the Matrix Reloaded. The then IFC Entertainment president Jonathan Sehring had this to say about Mel Gibson’s film: “It is about as independent as one can get, certainly wasn’t developed by a studio, wasn’t financed by a studio, wasn’t released by a studio. I don’t know of any individual (Gibson) who has ever put so much of his own money on the line for any movie”. 

The film went on to gross $622 million globally, and remains the highest grossing independent film ever made. It was a watershed moment in the industry, because Gibson had made the film with $25 million of his own money – after being rebuffed by Twentieth Century Fox and other major Studios. Hollywood’s big boys purportedly passed on the project due to the potential controversy over the depiction of the Pharisees in the film. Gibson admits he didn’t make it any easier for the Studios by telling the story in two dead languages (Latin and Old Aramaic).

And now the Oscar winning Director is back with a sequel. The Resurrection of the Christ will begin filming in Italy this August, according to recent statements by Manuela Cacciamani, CEO of Rome’s Cinecittà Studios. “I can confirm that the next film directed by Mel Gibson, produced by Icon Productions, ‘ The Resurrection of Christ’ , will be shot entirely in Cinecittà starting in August and requires many theaters and stage constructions”.

When interviewed by Joe Rogan in January, Gibson hinted at his plans for the sequel. “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. You need to go to Sheol,” he added.

Reprising his role as Jesus will be Jim Caviezel, who most recently starred in The Sound of Freedom (2023) as a Federal Agent who rescues a boy from child traffickers. On playing Jesus in The Passion of the Christ Caviezel declared, “As a result of playing this part, I have become even more passionate about the Way of the Cross”. He also spoke of the punishment he took while shooting The Passion, which included accidental lashes during the flogging scene, and being struck by lightning during the filming of the Sermon on The Mount.

Gibson confirmed he will be utilizing CGI de-aging techniques in order to make the casting believable, given the 20-year leap. Monica Bellucci will also be returning as Mary Magdaline.

The news of Gibson’s Jesus sequel will likely draw mixed reactions, just as it did the day after the first film’s premiere. The New York Times famously predicted that the religious movie would end his career. The publication even called for moviegoers to boycott the film. The same New York Times that would later admit that the film’s success pointed to a demand for religious-based films.

(Images courtesy of Icon Productions)     

Massimo Volpe is a filmmaker and freelance writer from Toronto: he writes reviews of Italian films/content on Netflix