Mel Gibson to Film Sequel to Passion of the Christ in 2023: Report

Mel Gibson will begin filming the much-anticipated sequel to his 2004 blockbuster The Passion of the Christ this year, according to a new report.

Veteran movie journalist Jordan Ruimy reported Wednesday that he’s “hearing Mel Gibson will finally be shooting The Passion of the Christ: Resurrection in a few months.”

“A late Spring production is currently being eyed with Jim Caviezel set to return in the role of Jesus,” Ruimy wrote on his WorldofReel.com blog.

“It’s been a long time coming,” Ruimy wrote.

The entertainment website IMBD.com lists the new film as scheduled for a 2024 release.

The Passion of the Christ remains the top-grossing Christian-themed movie of all time and ranked No. 1 at the box office for four weekends in 2004. It grossed $370 million domestically and followed the story of Jesus’ final hours before His crucifixion.

A sequel “has been ruminating in development for around ten years now,” Ruimy wrote.

“Gibson has been hard at work on the screenplay with Braveheart screenwriter Randall Wallace – there have already been six drafts,” he wrote. “Resurrection would focus on the twenty-four hours encompassing Jesus’ passion and the events that occurred three days between his crucifixion and resurrection.”

The Passion of the Christ received three Oscar nominations: Cinematography, Original Score and Makeup.

It was rated R for sequences of graphic violence.

Gibson said the 2004 movie was a spiritual experience for him. He felt led by God to make it, he said.

“Couple years back,” he told DTS Voice in 2004, “I was looking out a window, wondering why I shouldn’t jump. Life had no meaning. It was boring. Purposeless. That’s when I turned to Him. That’s when my relationship with Christ really started growing. … I was a bad guy … a really horrible guy. My sins were the first to nail Him to the cross. I wanted to tell His story.”

Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.