THE RESURRECTION OF THE CHRIST writer Randall Wallace recalled the spiritual warning Mel Gibson gave him before starting work on the script.
“Mel didn’t approach me. I approached him, actually,” Wallace said while appearing on the “Arroya Grande” podcast. “Having studied the Resurrection and being so consumed by it, I thought about it many times.”
Wallace explained that he “didn’t have anything to do with THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST” but had previously worked with Gibson on HACKSAW RIDGE. As the pair promoted the latter movie, Wallace decided to ask Gibson about doing a PASSION sequel.
“We were sitting there talking about our lives, and I said, ‘Look, you know, the story that you really need to tell is the Resurrection,’” he said. “There was this long pause, and he said something profoundly beautiful. He said, ‘If we do this, it can’t be for the money, and it can’t be to get back at people that have hated us or wronged us or been unhappy with us.’ And I said, ‘Amen to that.’”
Wallace added, “Then he said, ‘You know, Satan’s going to come after you.’”
THE RESURRECTION OF THE CHRIST is the long-awaited sequel to 2004’s THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST, which made over $610 million worldwide.
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THE RESURRECTION OF THE CHRIST is set to hit theaters next year. Adam Fogelson, chair of the Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, called Gibson “a true visionary with an artist’s eye for scale and a storyteller’s instinct for emotional truth.”
“Every image we’ve seen from set feels like a masterwork painting brought to life,” he continued. “There are very few directors who can operate at this level of epic spectacle while at the same time delivering such depth and conviction. Mel has crafted a film of extraordinary ambition that audiences worldwide have been waiting to experience for over 20 years.”
In a statement, Gibson shared, “I’m deeply grateful to my incredibly talented cast and crew for pouring their hearts into this production. Together, we created something powerful.”
“This film represents a major part of my life’s work, and it has demanded everything of me as a filmmaker and as an artist,” he continued. “This is far more than a film to me. It’s a mission I’ve carried for over 20 years to tell what I believe is the most important story in human history.”
THE RESURRECTION OF THE CHRIST PART ONE premieres May 6, 2027, with PART TWO debuting May 25, 2028.
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