It’s been 20 years since Mel Gibson’s polarising biblical blockbuster The Passion of the Christ hit screens.
Following the final 12 hours in the lead-up to the death of Jesus Christ – including his arrest, trial and crucifixion – the film starred Jim Caviezel as the Messiah, Maia Morgenstern as his mother Mary, and Monica Bellucci as Mary Magdalene.
Although the screenplay was based on the gospels, it did face the wrath of many – who said its violence was too graphic, while others went so far as to call it antisemitic.
Despite the backlash, it was a box office success – grossing a mammoth $612.1million (£458million) and still stands as the highest-grossing Christian film of all time.
It was also warmly received by critics – receiving three Oscar nominations.
After years of discussions that a sequel was on its way, in 2016 writer Randall Wallace said he and Gibson were working on a follow-up that would focus on Jesus’ Resurrection and the events surrounding it.
What do we know about the sequel?
Two years after Wallace’s initial announcement, 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 he declared of the sequel: ‘It’s going to be the biggest film in world history.’
In 2023 Gibson then said it was ‘coming soon’, going on to reveal earlier this year it would be titled The Resurrection of the Christ.
Speaking of two scrips he’d been working on, he explained: ‘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’.
Asked about concerns that so much time had passed since the original, he said last year that there were plans to use technology in order to see the main cast return.
What has happened to the cast?
At the time Gibson had confirmed that Caviezel, 57, would reprise the role, explaining how CGI and special effects would be utilised to make him appear the same age as he was when the original was filmed two decades ago.
However, this week it was announced that he’s now been cut from the film entirely – with a younger actor set to take over.
As first reported by Variety, Finnish actor Jaakko Ohtonen (best known appearing in the Netflix historical drama The Last Kingdom) will now be playing Jesus.
The main cast for the film – which began shooting last week in Rome – has also been entirely replaced.
Mary Magdalene is now being played by Cuban actress Mariela Garriga, who starred in Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning as Marie.
Meanwhile Polish actress Kasia Smutniak (Domina) is now playing Mary.
The Apostle Peter will be played by Italian actor Pier Luigi Pasino, best known for appearing in the Netflix series The Law According to Lidia Poët.
Meanwhile Pontius Pilate will be played by another Italian actor – Riccardo Scamarcio.
It’s also been reported that Rupert Everett will also appear in an ‘unspecified small but important role’.
A source told the publication that given the fact the events of the sequel take place three days after Christ was crucified on Good Friday it ‘made sense to recast the whole film’.
‘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,’ they added.
How have fans reacted?
However, the cast update has divided fans of the original.
‘Recasting Jesus is blasphemous work,’ Edward declared on X.
‘Disappointing news. I’ve been waiting forever for this movie. It won’t be the same without a truly devout and believing actor playing Jesus. Caviezel’s personal faith was evident in every moment of The Passion,’ Kristen shared.
‘That’s a shame. Caviezel was superb,’ Tim added.
Many others pointed out the irony of casting a Nordic actor as a Middle Eastern man. ‘Another white Jesus? I’ll pass,’ one quipped.
However other people said they were still optimistic the sequel could live up to the original.
‘Too bad about Caviezel. But I was concerned that de-aging him may negatively affect the film’s quality. This seems like the right approach,’ user RegularGuy posted.
‘Good pick. At least the resemblance to Jim isn’t too off,’ Shawn shared.
‘Amazed anyone is surprised – especially given the quality of the de-aging tech,’ Jo Ann added.
What has Caviezel said about playing Jesus?
Just a few months ago Caviezel said he was keen to reprise his role in The Passion of the Christ sequel. He is yet to comment publicly on the recasting, but it was announced yesterday that the American actor would star in the upcoming action film Archangel.
A devout Catholic, the actor jumped at the offer to play Jesus Christ; despite being told it could damage his career.
‘Each one of us has our own cross to carry — we either pick it up and carry it or we get crushed under the weight of it,’ he once said.
However, he described filming the movie as ‘torture’. During the process he was struck by lightning, dislocated his shoulder, and suffered from pneumonia and hypothermia.
He also developed skin conditions and had blood streaming out of his mouth during on scene after falling under the weight of the 68-kilo cross and biting his tongue.
After being struck by lightning during the last shot of filming, which was the Sermon on the Mount scene, those around him started ‘screaming’ when seeing he had ‘fire on both sides of his head’.
That accident left him with heart complications, which he eventually required two surgeries for.
‘I’ll be honest with you, there are things that I went through that I can’t even talk about,’ he once said about his experiences on set.
Despite this, he said filming the movie deepened his faith and he would receive daily counsel, confession, and Holy Communion from a local Catholic priest.
After the film was released and came under fire, he hit back at critics, but his career did also suffer in the subsequent years.
‘As soon as I did Passion, other [film offers] stopped coming in…but I’m a big boy and I’m not going to play a victim,’ he said.
When believing he was reprising the role of Jesus, he said: ‘I want to enjoy this one more than I did the other one.’
When will the sequel be released?
The Resurrection of the Christ sequel is set to be split up into two parts. The first will be released on Good Friday, March 26, 2027. Part Two will hit screens 40 days later on Ascension Day, May 6.
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