Development In June 2016, writer
Randall Wallace stated that he and
Mel Gibson had begun work on a
sequel to
The Passion of the Christ (2004) which will focus on the
resurrection of Jesus and the events surrounding the resurrection. In 2018,
Jim Caviezel said that Gibson had sent him the third draft of the screenplay, announcing his intentions to reprise his role as
Jesus Christ. In 2020, Caviezel said that it would be titled
The Passion of the Christ: Resurrection and predicted "It's going to be the biggest film in world history". In July 2023, Gibson stated the sequel was "coming soon", and that he had two versions of the script that he was working on, saying "one of them is a very structured and very strong script and kind of more what one should expect and the other is like an acid trip". In September 2024, while promoting
Monster Summer (2024), Gibson addressed concerns on how he would make believable that only three days have passed in-universe in the film given that more than 20 years have passed since the original film was made. Gibson originally planned to use
de-aging technology to solve the issue, as Caviezel and other actors such as
Maia Morgenstern as
Mary,
Monica Bellucci as
Mary Magdalene, and
Francesco De Vito as
Saint Peter would either have to be de-aged or recast, while
John the Apostle would have to be recast because
Christo Jivkov died in 2023. In January 2025, Gibson revealed that the title of the film was
The Resurrection of the Christ. In April 2025, Caviezel said that he would reprise his role as Jesus in the sequel and would be de-aged with the same modern technology employed in
The Irishman (2019) because he needed to look three days older than how old he was in the original film, a preparation for which Caviezel said he was asking Jesus to work through him. Gibson has teased the film as an "acid trip", as it explores Christ's time exploring Hell, dealing with
fallen angels and the
Harrowing of Hell.
Casting By October 2025, when the film was in
pre-production however, it was reported that Caviezel and Bellucci had exited the film, with their roles being recast. Days later, it was announced that the entire cast of the original movie would be replaced due to scheduling conflicts and the cost of using
de-aging CGI special effects. Finnish actor
Jaakko Ohtonen was cast as Jesus, replacing Caviezel;
Mariela Garriga as Mary Magdalene, replacing Bellucci; separately, Smutniak's support for the
2020–21 Strajk Kobiet protests against Poland's criminalization of almost all abortions meant that some Polish conservatives criticized her being cast as the Virgin Mary and began a campaign calling on Gibson to find a different actress for the role.
Filming Principal photography began on October 6, 2025. The film will be shot entirely at
Cinecittà Studios in
Rome; and will be completed
simultaneously with its sequel. It was previously reported to begin in early 2025. Filming
wrapped on April 30, 2026. ==Release==