After promising a follow-up to “The Passion of the Christ” for decades, director Mel Gibson is finally getting ready to get his retelling of the resurrection with Lionsgate, officially dating the two-part sequel “The Resurrection of the Christ” in 2027.
The studio announced yesterday that those two films will be heading to theaters on Good Friday, March 26, 2027, and on Ascension Day, Thursday, May 6, 2027. Although we’re still waiting on new casting, Jim Caviezel previously played the role of Jesus in “The Passion” in the Oscar-nominated religious pic and is said to be returning alongside Monica Bellucci as Mary Magdalene.
Those specific dates are likely an attempt to get church groups out to theaters, as you might remember that the 2004 release amassed an impressive $610 million, and a lot of that came from international support from a faith-based campaign to get Christians in those screenings, becoming one of the most successful R-rated movies (featuring some extremely violent sequences) of all time. Also, it was one of the most profitable, given the first installment’s modest $30 million budget.
Gibson’s working relationship with Lionsgate has been long-established as they distributed his last two directorial efforts, the Andrew Garfield-led WWII action drama “Hacksaw Ridge,” and “Flight Risk,” starring his pal Mark Wahlberg (we wouldn’t be entirely shocked if the devout Catholic actor showed in these films).
The filmmaker’s concerning off-set behavior, including throwing around sexist/racist slurs in public and multiple domestic abuse allegations, hasn’t been the only thing controversial, as “The Passion” had antisemitism allegations as the Jewish community wasn’t entirely pleased in the movie weren’t exactly pleased with the portrayal of Jewish characters and pinning the responsibility of Jesus’ death on them rather than the occupying Roman forces, who were the ones behind the crucifixion (an antisemtic trope is blaming all Jews for the death of Christ and the ADL commented on the film back in 2013).
Speaking of those off-set behavior by the actor/director, actress Winona Ryder added to those antisemitism claims after revealing in 2020 that Gibson referred to her, a Jewish woman herself, as an “oven dodger” referring to the brutal genocide of the Holocaust, when he asked if she was Jewish at a party (allegations Gibson has denied).
“We were at a crowded party with one of my good friends,” Ryder told the Sunday Times (a story she has stated before). “And Mel Gibson was smoking a cigar, and we’re all talking, and he said to my friend, who’s gay, ‘Oh wait, am I gonna get AIDS?’ And then something came up about Jews, and he said, ‘You’re not an oven dodger, are you?'”
At one time, Gibson had been attached by Warner Bros. to direct “Lethal Weapon 5,” but since the death of Richard Donner (director of the previous four installments in the buddy cop franchise) and various shakeups at the party company, there hasn’t been much movement on that one.
One of the only titles slated for that March date is Sony‘s live-action “Legend of Zelda“ fantasy action flick from director Wes Ball and based on the beloved Nintendo video game series. So, there isn’t much in the way of competition for “The Resurrection of the Christ.”
