Jim Caviezel Will Resurrect His Portrayal of Jesus in Mel Gibson’s ‘Passion of the Christ’ Sequel
Three days, 14 years. Who’s counting?
Yes, it’s been that long; 14 years since Mel Gibson released The Passion of the Christ, which went on to become one of the highest-grossing independent films of all time. In the years since, Gibson has talked about a sequel (among, uh, other things) and back in 2016 we got word that Randall Wallace, screenwriter of Gibson’s Braveheart, was working on the script for another Passion about Jesus’ resurrection.
There hasn’t been much news since then (the Lord works in mysterious ways, guys, give it time) but now USA Today has an interview with Gibson’s Jesus, Jim Caviezel, who confirms that he will return for the sequel (which is reportedly titled The Passion of the Christ: Resurrection). Here’s what Caviezel told the paper:
There are things that I cannot say that will shock the audience ... But I’ll tell you this much, the film he’s going to do is going to be the biggest film in history. It’s that good.
THR says Caviezel is only “in talks” for the sequel at this point, but clearly he has a lot of enthusiasm for the project, and it sure sounds like a contract is a formality. In recent years, Gibson’s been rehabbing his image and getting back into the business as an actor and director (2016’s Oscar-nominated Hacksaw Ridge was his first work behind the camera since 2006’s Apocalypto). A Passion sequel would certainly represent the culmination of that return to the mainstream following years of scandals. And it would also certainly represent huge box office for whatever studio releases the film. I’m not sure how they’ll explain why Caviezel (who is now almost 50) looks so much older as Jesus after he was dead for just three days. I guess dying takes a lot out of you.