Posted on 10/15/2025 7:58:55 AM PDT by Red Badger
Mel Gibson’s “The Resurrection of the Christ,” his long-delayed follow up to 2004’s “The Passion of the Christ,” has cast Finnish actor Jaakko Ohtonen (“The Last Kingdom”) in the role of Jesus, replacing original star Jim Caviezel.
Shooting started last week at Rome’s Cinecittà Studios on the film, with its main ensemble having been entirely recast. More than 20 years ago, Gibson shot the original “Passion of the Christ” at Cinecittà, which became one of the largest-grossing independent films of all time with a worldwide box office of $610 million. As previously announced, “The Resurrection of the Christ” will be split into two films, with each part set to release in 2027.
Mary Magdalene, a role held in “Passion” by Monica Bellucci, is being played in “Resurrection” by Cuban actress Mariela Garriga, who starred in the “Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning” films as Marie. Polish-born actor Kasia Smutniak (“Domina”) is replacing Maia Morgenstern as Mary; Peter is being played by Italy’s Pier Luigi Pasino, who stars in Netflix Italy original “The Law According to Lidia Poët”; and the Pontius Pilate role will be played by Italy’s Riccardo Scamarcio, who recently led the Johnny Depp-directed biopic “Modì.” Rupert Everett will appear in an unspecified small but important role.
Because of the time frame in which “The Resurrection of the Christ” takes place — three days after Christ’s crucifixion on Good Friday — “it made sense to recast the whole film,” a source close to the production told Variety. “They would have had to do all this CGI stuff, all this digital stuff — de-aging and all that — that would have been very costly,” the source noted.
In April, the 57-year-old Caviezel had suggested on the “Arroyo Grande” podcast that he was ready to reprise his career-defining role of Jesus in the follow up. Ohtonen, who is 36, is presently best known for his role as the Dane warrior Wolland in the fifth season of Netflix’s historical epic “The Last Kingdom.”
“The Resurrection of the Christ” is being produced by Gibson, Bruce Davey and their Icon Productions banner with Lionsgate as the studio partner.
The original film, which is spoken in Aramaic, Hebrew and Latin to create a more historically accurate and immersive experience, followed the final 12 hours before the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Gibson has described the sequels as an “acid trip,” adding that he “never read anything like” the scripts, which the filmmaker wrote alongside “Braveheart” screenwriter Randall Wallace. As the title suggests, the plot is expected to focus on Jesus Christ’s resurrection. Other story details are being kept under wraps.
“The Resurrection of the Christ Part One” is slated for Good Friday on March 26, 2027, while “Part Two” is set for 40 days later on Ascension Day, May 6. Lionsgate will release the films in theaters.
Besides Cinecittà, where it occupies the new Studio 22 facility, “Resurrection” will also shoot in the ancient southern Italian town of Matera. Gibson is expected to shoot the sequel in other ancient Southern Italian rural locations, including Ginosa, Gravina Laterza and Altamura.
“”””Finland as a country does not have the historical or spiritual ties to the ancient church, and Holy Land, holy empires that even next-door Russia does.””””
Lol, whatever that has to do with anything, and Catholics are ashamed of Mel Gibson, got it, Mel Gibson and Finland.
Mel Gibson does a pretty good job with these type of projects. I am going to give him the benefit of the doubt on his casting decisions.
After all, he doesn’t advise me on my work decisions.
Bypassing America, everywhere else with a stronger connection to the holy land and to church history, to a mythically Aryan-esque land…to cast the most significant Jew who ever lived. yes. It’s a statement in and of itself.
The eastern Mediterranean was the melting pot of the ancient world, and inhabitants came in every color from King David's "fair and ruddy" to as dark as the Ethiopian that met St. Philip on the road.
That was by God's design. He didn't want us to be worrying about what color His son might be. As many icons attest, Christ appears to His faithful where they are.
It will be interesting to see what happened the forty days after.
Robert Powell did pretty well in Zeffirelli’s JESUS OF NAZARETH.
The hated Finland Christians, so unlike Washington state.
Since you seem to despise so much of this, were you a fan of the first act, The Passion?
I already made clear that Caviezel, being an American (Slovak-Irish descent to be exact) on an American sourced production, with darker physical features, and who happens to be extremely devout in real life…for 2004, great CASTING.
Two decades later; with all the changes going on in the world, all the flash points of identity, race, and faith - not to mention geopolitics playing out in the Holy Land - and given Mel Gibson’s own misguided anti-Semitic statements, the Finnish actor is the wrong choice.
I agree. As I said in the previous thread on this topic, you can never know until you get the make-up, costumes, and directing going. The important thing is how good an actor he is. If the guy was playing the part in some community theater production, I'd have my reservations, but Mel has a pretty good record of casting just the right actors for his films and his superb production and direction skills are also a factor in making characters come to life. I am more optimistic than not.
Disagree and the double standards toward DEI in casting are glaring and disheartening to read from fellow Christians who you know would be outraged if someone of a different race dared to portray a beloved figure from their own history or perceived heritage or something even in a fictional superhero pic?
Again given Mel Gibson’s anti-Jewish rap sheet, it’s totally making a statement on its own, to bypass not just the pool of actors in America, but everywhere else, to a Nordic (practically Aryan in its mythology) country with very little historical ties to the ancient church and Holy Land, and one of the MOST fiercely anti-Semitic to boot.
It’s aesthetically and socially subversive.
You don’t need to post your Finland hate rantings to me in PMs anymore.
Your resentment of Finland for being Protestant is bizarre enough but to have it making you rant against this future film on thread after thread is just totally obsessive.
Evidently the guy was born in Finland, and Finland is Protestant Christian, like America, which is supposed to mean something, what, I don’t know.
What’s ironic is a lot of people defending the choice would whine about a DEI casting for a fictional superhero! Pointing out Finland’s and Finnish Lutheranism’s glaring anti-Semitism both historical and present day - Jewish hatred on a level even above its European neighbors - is just stating FACT. And compounded by Gibson’s own twisted anti-Jew ideologies.
A person who cares about historical integrity, and honoring the Jewishness or at the very least Mediterranean-ness of the Messiah, would have limited the casting pool to consider period. Finnish actors can play Roman soldiers maybe. In 2025, they should not play Biblical-regional characters in a Hollywood production even as a backdrop.
Quit being a total idiot and learn what DEI is, Mel isn’t passing over better choices for an affirmative action pick.
He opened the casting pool to include blatantly inaccurate types to begin with. Again, I bet you’d complain if the same were done for Superman.
LOL, learn what DEI is and quit misusing it, something Gibson is known for is a gift for casting, this is not DEI/affirmative action.
You need to remove a lot of that strange hatred in your heart for this Christian movie and it’s Christian director, and Finland, it is just weird and nasty, you have been on this for 2 days now.
Actually, it’s been two days of you deflecting from anti-Semitism and other racial double standards. It would be lovely for Finnish filmmakers and artists to make great God-honoring work, even more-so if it’s to address and counter the roots of anti-Semitism latent in their culture and society. It would even be fine for Finnish actors to be considered to be cast as great American figures — historical, fictional, or otherwise… BUT they are not the right casting choices to play Jesus (maybe Roman officials, soldiers) but not historic, Biblical figures. Period.
On what is supposed to be an internationally distributed production meant for a global audience*** - local productions totally different story. My main point is that Mel Gibson is making a statement, and it’s sadly in keeping with his overall bias that is not just anti-Semitic, but dishonoring the Biblical canon and anti-Christian in the end as well.
“””””Actually, it’s been two days of you deflecting from anti-Semitism and other racial double standards.”””””
You are a liar, and made that up.
^ Yes left wing Hollywood and secular media is ready to pounce on anything Christian but the constant references to and singling out of “Jews” is what’s glaring.
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