Two decades later, Passion of Christ has a sequel

By Miguel Guttierez —

It was 2004 when Mel Gibson self-financed The Passion of the Christ, the blockbuster documentary-like film that centerpieced an R-rated gruesome, brutal and stomach-churning crucifixion. His $30 million+ personal investment paid him back $300 million, and the Hollywood executives who predicted failure got a wakeup call that audiences DO want faith content.

Now, after more than 20 years, the sequel is finally being developed call The Resurrection of the Christ, possibly to be released in 2026. Again it is the start of Brave Heart and Mad Max who is behind it. Again it is his own struggle with alcohol and existential emptiness that drives the vivid re-telling of Biblical narrative. It took Gibson eight years to sketch out the script.

The latest word in Hollywood is that the sequel will be sequels. Two films are supposedly in the works. One goes all the way back to the fall from Heaven of the angels who became demons, an interpretation of some ambiguous passages of scripture that doesn’t enjoy support from all theologians but is viral online.

The delving into demons, and the subsequent “harrowing of Hell” Catholic doctrine, will provide the visceral content that Passion fans will expect in any sequel. It will bring compelling drama to what otherwise could be a too feel-goody movie something akin to Dora the Explorer.

With the use of $40M de-aging CGI technology, Jim Caviezel will reprise as Jesus, Maia Morgenstern as Mary and Francesco De Vito as Jesus — even voices are being turned back 20 years.

The Passion of the Christ was ground-breaking proving to secular Hollywood executives that faith-based content could be popular and profitable. Now, however, The Resurrection is entering a crowded market: there’s The Chosen, Jesus Revolution and The House of David to name just a few.

Passion proved that Hollywood’s tendency to feminize and make Jesus into some kind of mystic or mysterious guru was dead wrong. The sheer violence of the crucifixion was not toned down.

But now, intricacy of backstories and personal interactions in Biblical retelling is all the rage. Will Resurrection flop in an evolved market? Gibson is not holding back investment (an estimated $100M is being plowed in) on his bet that the story that changed his own personal life will resonate with millions worldwide once again.