Mel Gibson has been on somewhat of a comeback trail over the last few years. After being virtually shut out of Hollywood in 2006, it seemed he was welcomed back in 2016 when he received a 10-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival for his World War II epic, Hacksaw Ridge. The film went on to receive six Oscar nods, including Best Director for Gibson.
Gibson is undoubtedly a gifted actor, however, many would say he shines best behind the lens. While his comeback has mostly consisted of acting roles, he has been quietly working on a sequel to 2004’s The Passion of the Christ. After years in pre-production, The Resurrection of the Christ is now officially a go-picture. So, here’s everything we know about the movie so far.
Why Has the Film Taken So Long?
The road to The Resurrection of the Christ has been stalled by a mix of creative perfectionism and a Hollywood landscape that remains deeply conflicted about Mel Gibson. While Hacksaw Ridge was a critical breakthrough, his “comeback” has been uneven, marked by behind-the-scenes friction and a visible reluctance from major studios to fully re-embrace his brand. Take Flight Risk, for example. Although Gibson directed the film and box office titan Mark Wahlberg led it, Gibson’s name was noticeably absent or minimized on early posters and trailers. This tactic allows studios to benefit from his directing talent while distancing the film’s promotional “face” from his personal brand to avoid social media backlash.
Then there’s Lethal Weapon 5 – or lack there of it. Gibson has been trying to get this film off the ground for years, even stepping in to direct after the passing of original director Richard Donner. However, the project has faced “development hell” at Warner Bros. Reports suggest that while the script is ready, securing full studio backing for a major franchise led by Gibson remains a massive hurdle in the “post-cancel culture” era.
However, the primary delay for The Resurrection of the Christ was the sheer complexity and massive scope of the script. Gibson and co-writers Randall Wallace (Braveheart), and brother Donal Gibson reportedly spent nearly seven years developing the screenplay alone. Unlike the chronological suffering of the first film, this sequel is described by Gibson as an “acid trip” that is nonlinear.
The Resurrection of the Christ Will Be Bigger Than You Thought
In January 2025, Mel Gibson appeared on the Joe Rogan Experience to promote Flight Risk, however, The Resurrection of the Christ wound up dominating most of the conversation. Gibson went into detail about the intense backlash he faced for the first movie in 2004, explaining that major studios – who typically chase Oscar-winning directors – refused to take his calls or finance the project. As a result, The Passion of the Christ became the highest-grossing independent film of all time, pulling in over $612 million at the global box office. This time around, he has gone independent again.
Gibson’s appearance on the podcast acted as a “soft launch” of sorts. It amassed over 13 million views and let the world know that his sequel was officially coming. While he didn’t go into too much detail, he explained that to tell the story “properly,” he had to explore the fall of the angels, hell, and the spiritual realm of Sheol. He also confirmed that Jim Caviezel would be returning to the role of Jesus and that de-aging technology would be used to make him look only three days older than he did in the first film. Since then, things have changed and Caviezel has been replaced by Finnish actor, Jaakko Ohtonen.
Since his slot on the Joe Rogan Experience, it has also been announced that this grand-scale epic will be split into two parts. Filming wrapped up in late April 2026, and by the beginning of May, we got at a glance of Ohtonen as Jesus. The Resurrection of the Christ, like the original film, was primarily centred in Rome at the legendary Cinecittà Studios, while the exterior “biblical” backcloths were filmed across several historic towns in Southern Italy.
Casting Details and Release Date
The Resurrection of the Christ: Part One is currently in post-production and is eyeing a March 26, 2027 release date. Ohtonen will share the screen with the likes of Rupert Everett, Kasia Smutniak, Gabriele Rollo, and Andrea Scarduzio. As the two films were shot back-to-back, Part II is also in post-production and is expected to hit theaters just two months after on May 6, 2027. Because sequences were shot with IMAX cameras, Gibson is pushing for high-end large-format screenings to showcase the “otherworldly” visuals.
Read Next: Every Mel Gibson Directed Movie, Ranked
Follow Us
