It’s been over a decade since the release of “The Passion Of The Christ,” and five years and change since Mel Gibson‘s public meltdown, which saw his career in Hollywood largely vanish overnight. Directorial projects he had been developing were scuttled (remember “The Vikings” that would’ve starred Leonardo DiCaprio?), and no one would hire him. Slowly but surely, Gibson has reclaimed his career, with roles here and there, but 2016 looks to mark his big return. Last month he hit the Cannes Film Festival leading the grimy B-movie “Blood Father,” and later this year he’ll release his potential awards season contender, the WWII drama “Hacksaw Ridge.” So you might think that Gibson might steer clear of anything with a whiff of controversy. Guess again.
THR reports that Gibson and longtime screenwriting partner Randall Wallace are now working on a followup to ‘Passion’ that would focus on the resurrection. The untitled movie is currently in script stage, but one would wager this movie will be far less violent than the blood soaked 2004 film, that drew accusations of being anti-Semitic, all while rocketing its way to $611 million worldwide, a feat made all the more remarkable given it’s in Aramaic. It remains the highest grossing R-rated film domestically in history; even “Deadpool” couldn’t beat Jesus.
“The evangelical community considers ‘The Passion [Of The Christ]’ the biggest movie ever out of Hollywood, and they kept telling us that they think a sequel will be even bigger,” Wallace told the trade, and he’s probably right. He’s remained plugged into the faithful, most recently writing and directing the hit “Heaven Is For Real.”
Whether this project will be for real remains to be seen. Gibson’s reps are staying mum, though the attraction of a sequel to ‘Passion’ is easy enough to see. The resurrection is one of the most powerful stories of the New Testament and a cornerstone to the Christian faith, and given how lucrative the faith-based market can be, if audiences show up to the ‘Passion’ sequel in the same numbers as its predecessor, it’ll be a home run. That being said, this year that same audience was served “Risen” and they pretty much said no thanks, so who knows.
However, if this movie happens, we can probably consider Gibson’s career fully resurrected, and perhaps that will be the biggest miracle of all.