Everything We Know About Mel Gibson’s Passion of the Christ Sequel

Mel Gibson‘s blockbuster 2004 retelling of the last 12 hours of Jesus Christ’s life is the second all-time highest-grossing R-rated film in North America behind 2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine, and now the sequel seems closer than ever to coming true.

Jim Caviezel will return to play Jesus in The Resurrection of the Christ, and filming is slated to begin in 2025.

Over the years, Gibson has only talked in vague terms about the highly anticipated sequel, telling Stephen Colbert in 2016: “It’s more than [the] single event [in the title], it’s an amazing event … And to underpin that with the things around it is really the story. To sort of enlighten what that means.”

More recently, Caviezel speculated that the film would be split into two parts.

“It will be the biggest film in history. It might be two films. Could be three, but I think it’s two,” he said in July 2023.

Here’s everything we know about Mel Gibson’s Passion of the Christ sequel.

What is The Resurrection of the Christ about?

The Passion of the Christ sequel will, of course, cover the resurrection of Jesus, but Gibson has said that there is so much more to unpack than just the son of God rising from the dead.

“It’s a huge subject, and it’s not a linear narrative. You have to juxtapose the central event that I’m trying to tell with everything else around it in the future, in the past and in other realms, and that’s kind of getting a little sci-fi out there,” he told Raymond Arroyo, host of The World Over on EWTN, in 2022.

Later that same year, Gibson spoke with Jenni Falconer about the project.

“I have two scripts. One is very structured and the other is like an acid trip because you’re going into other realms. You’re in hell. You’re watching the angels fall. It’s crazy,” he shared.

Which cast members are returning for The Resurrection of the Christ?

In 2018, Caviezel announced that he will reprise his role as Jesus.

“There are things that I cannot say that will shock the audience,” he told USA Today. “It’s great. The film [Gibson is] going to be the biggest film in history. It’s that good.”

According to IMDB, Maia Morgenstern, who played Jesus’ mother in The Passion of the Christ, and Francesco De Vito, who portrayed Peter, have also signed on for the sequel.

When will production for The Resurrection of the Christ begin?

Gibson will start filming The Resurrection of the Christ in August 2025 at Rome’s Cinecittà Studios, according to Variety.

In September 2024, Italpress reported that the filmmaker spent five days scouting filming locations in Malta. The movie will also be shot in Israel and Morocco, per the outlet.