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By Michaela Gordoni
Mel Gibson’s long-awaited sequel to THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST has officially wrapped filming.
THE RESURRECTION OF THE CHRIST just finished seven months of filming in southern Italy for a 2027 release. The movie will be split into two parts: PART ONE debuting on Good Friday, March 26, 2027, and PART TWO on Ascension Day, May 6, 2027, ChurchLeaders reported.
In the sequels, Finnish actor Jaakko Ohtonen portrays Jesus. Each RESURRECTION cost approximately $100 million to $125 million — the most expensive films Gibson has ever directed. Per IMDB, THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST cost only $30 million.
Gibson has called the project “the most anticipated theatrical event in a generation.” It took nearly eight years to flesh out the script.
Related: How C.S. Lewis Prepares This Actor for THE RESURRECTION OF THE CHRIST
It’s “very complex and almost impossible to understand,” Gibson said last fall, “so…you have to underpin it with a great deal of all of salvation history and theology.”
“You have to start with the fall of the angels in the firmament…right at the beginning,” he said, adding the movies will feature battles between angels and demons, as well as Jesus descending into hell.
He felt a lot of pressure to perfect it.
“I think if you’re not afraid of something like that, there’s something wrong,” he said.
While the last movie had a lot of Aramaic dialogue, Gibson chose not to “alienate” audiences by using English.
A behind-the-scenes video circulating on social media shows the whole cast and crew celebrating their last day on set. In the video, Ohtonen thanks everyone, and “especially Mel,” for their work on the movies.
Other new cast in the project include Cuban actress Mariela Garriga as Mary Magdalene and Polish actress Kasia Smutnak as Mary, mother of Jesus. Luigi Pasino and Riccardo Scamarcio portray the Apostle Peter and Pontius Pilate. Rupert Everett will play Abraham.
THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST had many nominations and accolades. Per Box Office Mojo, it is the second most watched R-rated movie in the world.
Part of Movieguide®’s own review of PASSION OF THE CHRIST reads, “THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST is a must-see movie, beautifully directed, powerfully acted, and with terrific sound. Filmed in Latin and Aramaic, THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST has a foreign sensibility. The violence and the glee of the Romans who were scourging Jesus highlight the demonic quality of the battle Jesus was fighting.”
It continues, “Those who see it will understand, perhaps for the first time, the price that Jesus paid to forgive us our sins. This is real grace, not cheap grace.”
Hopefully Gibson’s new movies will also accurately represent the resurrection.
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