Mel Gibson Teases How He'll Handle A Major Passion of the Christ Sequel Problem (Exclusive)

Mel Gibson teases how The Passion of the Christ sequel Resurrection will deal with the twenty-year time gap between films.

By Kofi Outlaw

Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ was a massive breakout success when it was released in 2004 – a deeply religious-themed, R-rated movie about one of the most controversial moments in religious scripture, which defied all odds to become a box office hit. Now Gibson is working on a sequel film titled The Passion of the Christ: Resurrection, which will tell the final portion of Jesus Christ's story – namely his resurrection on Easter Sunday. 

The sequel has reportedly started development as far back as 2016, but as of this month it's being reported that Gibson is out scouring locations for filming, and it seems like Resurrection is indeed moving forward into production. Writer Randall Wallace (Braveheart)  Jim Caviezel has confirmed he's returning to play Jesus Christ – which gives Resurrection a major hurdle to deal with: namely, Caviezel has aged twenty years (or more) since Passion of the Christ was released. 

Mel Gibson is currently talking to the press about his new film Monster Summer, which he stars in alongside Mason Thames (The Black Phone), Lorraine Bracco (The Sopranos), Kevin James (King of Queens), and others. When ComicBook sat down with Gibson, the gap between The Passion of the Christ and Resurrection was one of the things we had to address. 

So how will Passion of the Christ: Ressurection convince viewers that only three days have passed? 

Gibson wouldn't reveal his exact directorial plan for bridging the gap in time – but he did indicate that he at least has the concept of a plan: 

"So it's like, you know, I have ways of dealing with that, because, you know, twenty years ago is [supposed to be] three days later. So it has its own peculiar set of problems, which I think I can solve."

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(Photo: Icon / Newmarket Films)

There are other Passion of the Christ actors whose characters would likely need to return for Resurrection. That list includes Maia Morgenstern (Jesus' mother Mary), Monica Bellucci (Mary Magdalene), Francesco De Vito (Peter), Christo Jivkov (John), and a whole list of others who portrayed key biblical figures. The big question on the table is whether Gibson will recast those other roles or attempt to bring back as much of the principal cast as possible. Not all the actors of Passion are still alive (Christo Jivkov sadly died of lung cancer in 2023), so it's kind of a coin toss; a mixed bag of both returns and recasts is certainly also possible. 

By now it's widely accepted for filmmakers to use de-aging visual effects to let actors portray younger versions of themselves, so the original cast members could still have a place in the sequel film. It's unclear how much Gibson will feature Caviezel as Christ, but the same logic applies to his performance. One conclusion we can probably draw: if de-aging VFX are part of the plan, then Passion of the Christ: Resurrection will have a heftier budget than the $30 million price of the original. 

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However, Randall Wallace wasn't willing to get into the financial concerns, previously stating, "It's too early to talk money. This is such a huge and sacred subject."

The Passion of the Christ: Resurrection is in development. 

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