The upcoming Passion of the Christ sequel is continuing to cause controversy as one of its stars faces backlash for even being cast.
Earlier this month it was announced that the sequel of Mel Gibson’s box office hit – which grossed $612.1million (£458million) upon its release in 2004 – had changed its entire cast.
The original had followed the last 12 hours in the lead-up to the death of Jesus Christ – including his arrest, trial and crucifixion. It starred Jim Caviezel as the Messiah, Maia Morgenstern as his mother Mary, and Monica Bellucci as Mary Magdalene.
But despite initial plans to have the original cast return, they were instead replaced with younger actors. Instead, Finnish actor Jaakko Ohtonen will now be playing Jesus, Mary Magdalene is now being played by Cuban actress Mariela Garriga, and Polish-born actress Kasia Smutniak is Mary.
The move was slammed by many, who even went so far as to call it ‘blasphemous’.
But a few weeks on, it’s now being reported that some have also raised issues with the inclusion of Smutniak.
The 46-year-old actress, who was born in Warsaw but now lives in Italy, is best known for starring in the Italian thriller series Devils, as well as the historical drama Domina.
However, her role in the upcoming blockbuster has drawn the ire of far-right Catholic groups in her native country, where she is known for being a pro-abortion activist.
Polish media, as per Variety, are reporting that supporters of the country’s conservative pro-life Law and Justice party (PiS) have written to Gibson’s Icon Productions to protest her casting and have cited her support for the Strajk Kobiet (Women’s Strike) movement – which has campaigned against the country’s strict abortion laws.
Meanwhile other people against her casting are trying to elicit support from conservative American commentators like Candance Owens.
‘Should someone with such strong left-wing views and supporting for abortion play this role? If she really played this role, more than half of Poles and Christians of all the world not watch this movie,’ one wrote on X,
However, many others have defended the actress and her right to share her views, regardless of starring in a religious film.
‘Actors are hired to portray a role on screen, their personal views shouldn’t be a factor,’ Douglas asserted on X.
‘But she’s an actress…and it’s fiction…’ Russ commented.
‘She’s an actress. Her personal choices and beliefs have nothing to do with her acting performance,’ Stacey added.
In 2022 she shared a lengthy post about abortion on Instagram after the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
‘We are definitely going back to the darkest places of our history…men deciding over a woman’s body,’ she wrote. ‘I’m so tired to live in a world ruled by few, greedy, religious fanatics.’
In recent years she’s frequently shared posts in support of causes including helping to fund a school in Nepal, as well as highlighting the plight of the Palestinian people.
In 2023 she also made her directorial debut with the documentary Walls (Mur), a travel diary in her home country denouncing the wall that the Polish government built in the so-called red zone in eastern Poland to prevent the entry of migrants.
In an interview with Variety ahead of its release, she was asked about what she wanted audiences to take away from her film.
‘Every day, we make choices. We cannot take these choices for granted. We need to determine what side of the story we want to be on,’ she said.
Filming on Resurrection of the Christ began in Rome earlier this month.
Although the film’s original star Caviezel is an outspoken Catholic who opposes abortion, Bellucci has previously said she supports a woman’s right to choose and that banning it is a ‘moral falsehood’.
Metro has contacted Icon Productions and representatives for Kasia Smutniak for comment.
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