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.”
Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/John Phillips/Stringer
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.
