Mel Gibson’s RESURRECTION OF THE CHRIST Gets Major Update

Published: August 6, 2025

By Lillie Jaenchen

Mel Gibson’s THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST follow-up, THE RESURRECTION OF THE CHRIST, will be split into two movies, Lionsgate revealed.

PART ONE will release in theaters on Good Friday, March 26, 2027, while PART TWO will arrive 40 days later, debuting on Ascension Day, May 6, 2027.

Earlier this year, Gibson called the project “ambitious” and said that it chronicles “the fall of the angels to the death of the last apostle” while talking to podcaster Joe Rogan.

“It’s about finding the way in that’s not cheesy or too obvious,” he explained. “I think I have ideas about how to do that and how to evoke things and emotions in people from the way you depict it and the way you shoot it. So I’ve been thinking about it for a long time. It’s not going to be easy, and it’s going to require a lot of planning, and I’m not wholly sure I can pull it off; to tell you the truth, it’s super ambitious. But I’ll take a crack at it because that’s what you’ve got to do, right, walk up to the plate, right?”

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2004’s THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST, which won a Movieguide® Teddy Bear Award®, was the highest-grossing R-rated movie domestically until last year. It earned $83 million its opening weekend, scoring an overall domestic take of $370 million and more than $610 million globally.

Related: THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST

It starred Jim Caviezel as Jesus Christ, Maia Morgenstern as Mary, Jesus’ mother, and Monica Bellucci as Mary Magdalene.

Caviezel will likely reprise his role in RESURRECTION, as will Bellucci. Gibson and his Icon Productions partner Bruce Davey will produce.

Catholic Review reported in March that filming for RESURRECTION will begin in August at Rome’s Cinecitta Studios.

“For many, many people across the globe, THE RESURRECTION OF THE CHRIST is the most anticipated theatrical event in a generation. It is also an awe-inspiring and spectacularly epic theatrical film that is going to leave moviegoers worldwide breathless,” said Lionsgate Motion Picture Group chair Adam Fogelson when announcing that Lionsgate was boarding the project in May. “Mel is one of the greatest directors of our time, and this project is both deeply personal to him and the perfect showcase for his talents as a filmmaker. My relationship with Mel and Bruce dates back 30 years, and I am thrilled to be partnering with them once again on this landmark event for audiences.”

While THE RESURRECTION OF THE CHRIST is still a few years out, it promises to be a powerful depiction of Jesus’ resurrection and final days before His ascension.

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