Mel Gibson revealed the first official look at The Resurrection of the Christsequel to the acclaimed The Passion of the Christ (2004).
Filming of the sequel –which is divided into two parts due to its extensive history– has officially ended. Production concluded ahead of schedule, after 134 days with locations in Italy (Rome, Bari, Ginosa, Craco, Brindisi and Matera).
Together with him first lookavailable at the end of the note, Gibson announced that The resurrection of Christ postponed its premiere in theaters for a couple of months. Part One will now be released on May 6, 2027instead of March 26. Part Two, meanwhile, was delayed one year, from May 6, 2027 to May 25, 2028.
The cinema premieres of both films will coincide with Ascension Day, a Christian holiday that commemorates the ascension of Jesus to heaven.
Gibson claimed to have created the story “exactly as he imagined it”:
“I am deeply grateful to my talented cast and crew for the dedication they gave to this production. Together, we created something powerful. This film represents a fundamental part of my professional journey and has demanded everything from me as a filmmaker and artist. For me, it is much more than a film. It is a mission that I have undertaken for more than 20 years: to tell what I consider the most important story in the history of humanity.”
Gibson had a new cast for the sequel, with Finnish actor Jaakko Ohtonen (The Last Kingdom) and the Cuban Mariela Garriga (Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning) as Jesus and Mary Magdalene, respectively, replacing Jim Caviezel y Monica Bellucci.
Other replacements include Kasia Smutniak (Domina) like Mary; Pier Luigi Pasino (The Law According to Lidia Poët) like Peter; and Riccardo Scamarcio (Modi) like Pontius Pilate. Additionally, Rupert Everett (My Best Friend’s Wedding) will appear in an important role for which no details have been given.
The reason for the change in the main cast is due to the time in which the plot takes place – three days after the crucifixion of Christ, on Good Friday – so it made more sense to implement replacements, rather than resort to rejuvenation through CGI, something that Gibson considered, but the production cost would have been significantly higher.
The script of Resurrection is co-written by Gibson y Randall Wallace (Braveheart). Some reports indicate that both wrote up to six drafts of the script prior to the final one.
About the history of The Resurrection of Christas the official title suggests, is expected to address “the descent of Christ into hell”, also known as “torn hell” which in Christian theology refers to the period of time between Jesus' crucifixion and his resurrection. In Christ's descent into hell, He brought with Him the salvation of souls held captive there since the beginning of the world.
This descent is mentioned in the Apostles' Creed, where it is briefly said that “he descended into hell,” but the release to the dead is not specified.
In May 2025, during his participation at the Fan Expo Philadelphia, Gibson confirmed that the sequel The Resurrection of the Christ will be divided into two films, saying:
“It took me about eight years to write the script for the sequel. It is a very complex topic and almost impossible to understand. So necessarily It must be based on much of the history and theology of salvation.. To understand that, you have to start with the fall of the angels in the sky, right at the beginning… it's not one movie, it's two movies, because it's huge..”
Until 2024, the original delivery, The passion of Christstill held the record as the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time in the United States. It had a US box office opening of $83 million, and amassed a total of $370 million. Its incredible global box office was over $610 million, against a budget of $30 million.
Gibson's acclaimed film combined supernatural elements with the harrowing depiction of the crucifixion, drawing heavily on Catholic imagery and traditions.
Gibson and Bruce Davey's Icon Productions produce the sequels.
They will be distributed by Lionsgate on US territory. The company distributed Gibson's most recent films, Hacksaw Ridge y Flight Risk.
The Lionsgate joint venture, IDC (International Distribution Company) will distribute in Latin America, while Diamond Films will do so in Spain.
First look at The resurrection of Christ:
Source: https://cine3.com/primer-vistazo-the-resurrection-of-the-christ-mel-gibson/
