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.
“”””Actually, it’s been two days of you deflecting from anti-Semitism and other racial double standards. “””””
You aren’t going to apologize for your lying in post 37 as you do your second day of ranting against this movie, against Mel Gibson, and Finnish, and your misuse of “DEI”?
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.
🙂Gee, Condeleeza, you're coming across as the President of the "Hate On Mel Gibson Club" today. The guy's not perfect (as none of us are), but his well-publicized drunken comments about the Jews (as repugnant as they may sound) have nothing to do with his proven ability to make a great movie (including casting the perfect characters for them) and certainly don't prove he has some subtle agenda to insert anti-Semitism into every aspect of his movie. The critical and popular success of "The Passion of the Christ" and his other films bear this out. Don't like Mel because you can't separate the man from his work? I can understand that. Just don't watch his movies.
As for someone taking offense at someone in a movie portraying someone from a different race than the original person: I am of Mexican descent and I watch a lot of Westerns. Love them. A lot of Westerns, especially the older ones, have non-Mexican actors playing Mexican characters. Depending on the actor, sometimes they are a little cringeworthy, but sometimes they are very good. Michael Ansara, for just one example. He's Syrian, but he played tons of Mexicans (and Indians) during his career, but he was such a good actor, he was always believable and even admirable. Rather than be offended, he is one of my favorite actors. It all depends on the actor (plus the script, director, costumes, make-up, etc, etc, etc).
Back then there was no real ethnic and racial acting pool in America to pull from, and when you need an actor who can carry a movie or hold his own in scenes with great actors, then the first consideration is getting a real actor.
When it came to old TV series like Gunsmoke, they needed pros who could hit their marks, do it in a single take, be available to come in that week, do their pro performance, and not waste production money or delay shooting, which is why we see the same handful of actors playing all kinds of characters and even different races and ethnicities and in dozens of episodes, similar to what we see in other countries that are still poor and homogenous and can’t afford to search high and low for quality race actors from around the globe for low budget productions.
We kids loved Michael Ansara, I was really surprised to learn his background a couple of years ago.
That’s great. But this is the resurrection of Jesus. Not a Western. And not 1955.
Matthew 2:23 “He went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene.”
Jesus being born a Jew in the first place was divinely and intentionally subversive on its own, especially within the context of the Roman Empire.
And given the historical Nazi baggage “Aryan Jesus” comes with… Compounded by Anti-Semitic fervor reviving and rearing its ugly head just about everywhere with all the historical revisionism to boot, this is hugely irresponsible.
It’s not good. Should have been someone from the Middle East, Mediterranean, or at least look in keeping with the land.
“Aryan Jesus” was a central tenet of fraudulent Nazi Christianity and sadly of “sedevacantist” Catholicism of which both Gibson and his father famously have ascribed to.
Yes it was very DEI to invite people of Nordic or Scandinavian descent to audition for the role of 1st Century Jews and adjacent neighbors. The casting call should have been limited to deserving actors of a certain region or regional look. (Again with exceptions for Roman soldiers etc…)
“Compounded by Anti-Semitic fervor reviving and rearing its ugly head just about everywhere”
**************************************
That’s due to Netanyahu’s actions in Gaza and has nothing to do with any Christian movie. You sound hysterical like those Jewish groups that attacked Mel over “The Passion” claiming that movie would cause Christians to hate Jews or other such nonsense. Mel is a very talented movie maker and if he chose this guy I’m sure it’s for a good reason.
Nutty as a fruitcake, I guess you will continue this hate fest of Finland and Mel Gibson and ‘The Resurrection of the Christ’ for the next year or so.
No I won’t it’s already filming…The timing and announcement read like a sort of middle finger from Gibson and well, it’s his money and time in the end.
But I hope, there will be more Hollywood productions that delve accurately and more deeply into Scripture.
And Anti-Semitism in our culture (which sadly is revving up among the American right as well the American left) and the accompanying revisionist history warrant more examination yes.
Exactly right.
When it came to old TV series like Gunsmoke, they needed pros who could hit their marks, do it in a single take, be available to come in that week, do their pro performance, and not waste production money or delay shooting, which is why we see the same handful of actors playing all kinds of characters and even different races and ethnicities and in dozens of episodes...
Even though there is now arguably a wider pool of actors to choose from, in the end who will get casted is--and should be-- the best actor you can get. You don't want to get ridiculous (like casting John Wayne as Genghis Khan), but that is your main consideration.
...similar to what we see in other countries that are still poor and homogenous and can’t afford to search high and low for quality race actors from around the globe for low budget productions.
That reminds me of some of the historical K-dramas I've scene which are usually excellent and a joy to watch. When an occasional European character makes an appearance, the acting is often so cringy, they only get away with it because the audience's limited experience with Europeans.
And for the record, I quite liked Estonia during my two week stay there. Never made it to Helsinki.
He said the cost to de-age the actors using AI and computer technology was cost prohibitive but that was his original goal.
You have people complaining on FR of an Asian being cast as Mozart. The double standards are glaring.
Gibson and his father are famously or have famously been identified with the fringe wing of Sedevacantist Catholics. “Aryan Jesus” and Holocaust denialism is their thing.
And even moreso given just how weighty the subject of the Resurrection is and the global nature of this film.
Gibson believes in the Catholic faith and not the “Aryan” bible. Stop making stuff up.
Asian is a absolutely different race and Mozart was full European white “Mozart was very thin and pale (he was only about 5’ tall), with abundant dark blond hair.” and a recent known figure, “We also know he had large blue eyes, a strong nose, and a head considered too big for his body”.
What did Jesus look like? He may have looked just like Jim Caviezel, no one knows, but not all Jews have to be ugly gnomes like you seem to be making them out as, especially from the house of David.
People are not speculating about Mozart, the casting is to make a political point, Mel Gibson’s casting will be a true possible look for Jesus, just as was Caviezel.
Jews are white.
I normally like Megyn Kelly, but you sound like her when she said “Santa Clause is white” when she was befuddled by Black Santa displays a couple years back.
(The real St. Nicholas was from Turkey. But regardless…)
The double standards are glaring and hypocritical.
I said Asian is a different race but I meant to say Oriental, Asia is a region, not a race, but we sometimes accidently use the language of the left because it is what we hear all day.
Again, like her but 🤦🏻♀️ .
Santa was white, from Turkey, he was not a negro.
There are 3 main races Caucasoid, Negroid, and Mongoloid.
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