‘Passion of the Christ’ Star Jim Caviezel Says Mel Gibson’s New Sequel Will Be ‘Biggest Film in History’
This hype is of biblical proportions. In late August of 2016, filmmaker and actor Mel Gibson confirmed what many fans of his monster hit “The Passion of the Christ” had long been expecting: “The Resurrection” is coming. At the time, Gibson told evangelist Greg Laurie that the long-gestating project was “a huge undertaking” for him and screenwriter Randall Wallace, adding that it’s “not the ‘Passion 2.'”
As he explained, “It’s called ‘The Resurrection.’ Of course, that’s a very big subject and it needs to be looked at because we don’t want to just do a simple rendering of it — you know, read what happened.”
During that chat, Gibson also told Laurie that there were no firm plans for the film’s production schedule, but it appears that might have changed in a major way.
Speaking with USA Today, Gibson’s “Passion” star Jim Caviezel confirmed that he will reprise his role as Jesus in the film, which seems like the most necessary piece of casting imaginable.
“I won’t tell you how he’s going to go about it,” Caviezel said. “But I’ll tell you this much, the film he’s going to do is going to be the biggest film in history. It’s that good.” Caviezel’s claims might sound hyperbolic, but as USA Today noted, the original film “was a major milestone in faith-based filmmaking, earning more than $611 million worldwide on a $30 million budget.”
The actor added, “There are things that I cannot say that will shock the audience. It’s great. Stay tuned.” Caviezel also said that Gibson has “cracked” the story, comparing it to other Gibson features, including another of his signature films. “‘Braveheart,’ that’s a film that took a long time to be able to crack,” Caviezel said. “The same thing for ‘Passion.’ And the same thing for this. He’s finally got it.”
While Caviezel would not let any further details slip, he did tell the outlet that he’s been speaking to Gibson about the project, and is “inspired” by the content of those conversations and that there is a tentative production schedule currently in place.
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