Posted on 10/16/2025 7:40:21 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Filming has begun on Mel Gibson’s long-awaited sequel to “The Passion of the Christ,” titled “The Resurrection of the Christ,” with Finnish actor Jaakko Ohtonen taking over the role of Jesus from Jim Caviezel.
According to Variety, production started last week at Rome’s Cinecittà Studios, where Gibson also shot the 2004 original, which grossed $610 million worldwide and became one of the highest-earning independent films in history.
The new project, produced by Gibson and Bruce Davey under their Icon Productions banner with Lionsgate as studio partner, will be released in two parts in 2027.
Cuban actress Mariela Garriga (“Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning”) will portray Mary Magdalene, replacing Monica Bellucci. Kasia Smutniak (“Domina”) will play Mary, previously portrayed by Maia Morgenstern. Peter will be portrayed by Italian actor Pier Luigi Pasino (“The Law According to Lidia Poët”), and Riccardo Scamarcio (“Modì”) will take on the role of Pontius Pilate. Rupert Everett will appear in a “small but important role,” according to producers.
Because the sequel takes place three days after Christ’s crucifixion, the production opted for an entirely new cast.
“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 — de-aging and all that — that would have been very costly.”
In April, Caviezel said on the “Arroyo Grande” podcast that he was ready to reprise his role and revealed he was turning to C.S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters for spiritual preparation.
Ohtonen, 36, is best known for his portrayal of the warrior Wolland in season five of Netflix’s historical drama “The Last Kingdom.”
Gibson co-wrote the new film with “Braveheart” screenwriter Randall Wallace and described the sequels as “an acid trip,” adding that he had “never read anything like” the scripts. While plot details remain under wraps, the story will focus on the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
“The Resurrection of the Christ: Part One” is slated to open on Good Friday, March 26, 2027, followed by “Part Two” on Ascension Day, May 6, 2027. In addition to Cinecittà’s new Studio 22, filming will take place in the ancient southern Italian city of Matera and other nearby locations, including Ginosa, Gravina, Laterza and Altamura.
The original "Passion of the Christ," filmed in Aramaic, Hebrew and Latin, depicted the final 12 hours of Jesus’ life and became a landmark in faith-based cinema. The sequel aims to pick up where that story left off at the dawn of the resurrection.
In a 2022 interview with CP, Gibson revealed he’s drawn to stories that highlight redemption and the need for a Savior.
“I've been taught from a young age that we're flawed, and you’re going to make mistakes,” he reflected. “We're broken, and we need help. Usually, the best way to get help is to ask for it. And well, who do we ask? We're asking something better than us. And the minute you acknowledge that there is something better than you, you might get something that resembles humility, which is really the key to the whole thing.”
He encouraged the next generation to “stick” to their “convictions” even though it’s “hard” in an increasingly polarized society.
“Sometimes you're presented with choices or put in places that are very difficult, and some of those choices are hard,” he said. “You just have to examine your own conscience and take the right road, I think. … There's no right way; there are a million wrong ways, and you just have to eliminate those or just use your best discernment to get through it."
“But it’s hard, man,” he added. “Life's hard. But we're all going. We’ve all got a boulder we’re dragging.”
Jim is 57 years old now, so he’s a bit long in the tooth............
If Disney were making the movie, it would take the position that Jesus is ageless.
So therefore the role should obviously be played by Morgan Freeman, 88, who has for years been Hollywood’s automatic choice to play God.
I’m glad Disney isn’t making the movie. It probably couldn’t figure out how to turn it into a theme park ride.
RE: So therefore the role should obviously be played by Morgan Freeman, 88
Even if he were 38, would he be appropriate for the role? C’mon, let’s be honest.
Would you cast a Semitic guy to play Martin Luther King Jr.?
I honestly think all these headlines about “Gibson replaces Caviezel” are about stirring the pot. Anybody with two brain cells realizes that too much time has passed and AI/CGI de-aging not only costs a lot but it makes people look weird.
It’s not good enough.
The new actor better be as good as Caviezel was or the never ending comparisons will end his career. Shoe filling is a tough job.
Gibson will get the performance he needs out of him. Mel has a way.
Indeed.
He always does.
In this case, it’s the sad truth.
I was about to post that. People are too critical.
Anyone who portrays Jesus will be under scrutiny. Hope the sequel stays true to the Gospels.
Mel bypassed America and actors from all over the world to go with a distinctly Nordic actor for Jesus - I am of the belief only actors either from the Biblical region, adjacent, or who have physical features in keeping with it - should have been considered to audition for the part. Nordic/Scandinavians fit the bill for Roman figures and soldiers only. The new actor’s appearance is even less in keeping with the geography Caviezel’s was.
Opening up the casting only to Mediterranean / Middle Eastern *looking* people would be in keeping with the practices of series such as “The Chosen” and “House of David” who have made it a point to do so even with background casting calls. Gibson to his credit does keep the original Aramaic and Hebrew (and Latin?) in tact. That’s one saving grace.
Gibson has an anti-Semitic record and his father was an avowed the Holocaust denialist, among other things. It’s 2025 and given the current global and spiritual climate, as well as how wide the reach this film would be, and all the ranting and raving about “DEI” replacements of both historical and fictional characters, historical accuracy & integrity should have been honored.
Yet people on this board have no problem with a lily “white” Jesus even as they rage over ‘woke’ replacements for everything else. Because of double standards.
He uses real whips. =)
Was not Jesus the son of GOD? It is irrelevant where he was born and what the people looked like. He looked like his FATHER in heaven. I don’t know what God looks like, do you?
My sisters husband is a Caviezel look alike.
He would travel for business pretty often and all the drunk women at the airport would slobber and throw themselves at him.
My sister was not amused at all.
I agree. But... at least it's not Timothee Chalamet. LOL!
>> I’m glad Disney isn’t making the movie. It probably couldn’t figure out how to turn it into a theme park ride.
This way to ride “The Gates Of Hell Prevailing”!
>>You must be at least This Evil to ride<<
Would you say the same if an Asian (lots of devout and talented Koreans out there for example) or a black actor were cast as Jesus in an internationally distributed film?
Jesus was a Jew. Period. And it was deliberate from Abraham, Isaac onwards that God showcased His humanity as one in the land He did, in the empire that He did, in the timing that He did.
Even filming it in Italy as opposed to say, Massachusetts, they are going somewhat trying to be accurate here.
Chalamet actually has some Jewish heritage!!! And Russian to boot…I was posting to someone on a similar thread yesterday that at even though Russia is next to Finland, it has way more historical and ancient ties to the Holy Land — it being a bedrock of Orthodox Christianity and its alphabet is Greek and founded by a monk.
It’s honestly not just a physical feature thing though, there’s something in the way people reflect the journey of their ancestors you know, in their bearing, in their carriage. Voice!
One of my favorite songs in the Passion of the Christ soundtrack features an Armenian singer and chant!!! It’s haunting!
This is a big mistake! It never goes well when they replace the original actor, just ask the producers of the latest “Witcher”! Who cares if he may look a bit older, that is not important. The job JC did in the first movie for so little return alone is reason to keep him. As much as I WAS looking forward to this movie I am afraid it will be a flop!
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