Mel Gibson is reportedly months away from shooting a sequel to his controversial 2004 film ‘The Passion of the Christ’.
Jim Caviezel is said to be returning in the role of Jesus while Gibson, 67, is apparently returning as director of “The Passion of the Christ: Resurrection”, according to Newsmax.
The title has already been reported, but the outlet said in an update on the project it could “begin filming in the next few months”.
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Gibson’s “Passion of the Christ” made $612 million globally at the box office on it is $30 million budget, making it the highest grossing R-rated film in US cinemas.
It created uproar with its graphic violence, for portraying anti-Semitism and apparently straying from the Bible.
Gibson, infamous for his anti-Semitic outbursts including that “Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world” when he was pulled over for drunk driving in 2006, said in 2016 about his plan for a sequel to “Passion of the Christ”: “Of course, that is a huge undertaking, and you know, it’s not the ‘Passion 2’. 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.
“But in order to read it, experience and explore probably deeper meanings of what it’s about, it's going to take some doing and Randall Wallace (the screenwriter of ‘Braveheart’) is up to the task.
“He is also, as well as a brilliant writer, he is a great director. He directed ‘We Were Soldiers’ and ‘Heaven is for Real’ and stuff.
“So, he is a good writer and director.”