“The Passion of the Christ” will resurrect this summer.
Mel Gibson’s long-awaited sequel, titled “The Resurrection of the Christ,” will start shooting in August at Rome’s Cinecittà Studios, CEO Manuela Cacciamani has announced.
Cacciamani, in an interview with Italian financial daily Il Sole 24 Ore, said Gibson and Icon Productions have set an August start-of-shoot date for the follow-up to his 2004 biblical blockbuster “The Passion of the Christ,” which became the largest-grossing independent film of all time.
Several sources have confirmed to Variety that “The Resurrection” will have a summer 2025 production start. Cinecittà’s sprawling new Studio 22 facility will serve as the film’s main hub. Similarly to “The Passion,” that was also based at Cinecittà, “Resurrection” will shoot in the ancient southern Italian town of Matera. Gibson is also expected to shoot the sequel in other ancient Southern Italian rural locations, including Ginosa, Gravina Laterza and Altamura.
Jim Caviezel is expected to return to play Jesus in “The Resurrection” while Maia Morgenstern, who played Jesus’ mother in “The Passion,” and Francesco De Vito, who portrayed Peter, are also believed to be on board, according to IMDB.
There was no comment from Gibson’s publicist, Alan Nierob.
Speaking on Joe Rogan’s podcast in January, Gibson described the film — which, of course, depicts the resurrection of Jesus — as “an acid trip,” adding that he’s “never read anything like” the script, which he penned in tandem with “Braveheart” screenwriter Randall Wallace.
In a 2022 interview with the National Catholic Register, Gibson said “Resurrection” was “not a linear narrative,” adding that “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.” He added, “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.”
After its 2004 premiere, “The Passion of the Christ” — Gibson’s 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 antisemitic due to its implication that Jewish leaders were to blame for Jesus’ death, the controversy also fueled interest, with churches booking out entire theaters for their congregants.
