In 2005, an episode of Family Guy featured a skit about The Passion of the Christ 2: Crucify This. Back then, only a year after the original film’s release, making a sequel to the most successful religious film ever seemed near sacrilegious. And yet, against all odds, The Passion of the Christ 2 is now a reality.
Titled The Passion of the Christ: Resurrection – Chapter I, the film will follow its predecessor’s footsteps as the new religious blockbuster of the season. The best part? Mel Gibson will direct and write The Passion 2, with Jim Caviezel reprising his legendary role as Jesus of Nazareth.
An Uncertain Resurrection
Originally slated for an Easter 2024 release, The Passion of the Christ 2 has faced its fair share of delays. Now, IMDb lists 2025 as the movie’s tentative release window. With more than two decades between The Passion of The Christ and its sequel, it’s safe to say that the two movies will be vastly different after Gibson has released projects such as Hacksaw Ridge, which took his directing chops to new levels.
Even Mel Gibson is still determining the kind of movie The Passion 2 will be. While actor Jim Caviezel mentioned the script was completed in 2020, a 2023 interview with Gibson revealed the filmmaker is torn between two scripts.
Both versions deal with the three-day interim between Jesus’ crucifixion and eventual resurrection. However, Gibson is currently considering one of the scripts, which “is like an acid trip,” according to the filmmaker. Most of the ‘acid-induced’ visuals would come from the movie’s depiction of Hell, which would make The Passion of the Christ 2 feel much more CGI-heavy than its predecessor.
Possible Franchise?
One thing to note about The Passion of the Christ 2 lies right there in its full title: Resurrection—Chapter I implies not only one sequel but multiple. As far as we know, nothing is stopping Gibson from turning The Passion of The Christ into an entire cinematic universe.
In late 2023, Gibson and his team confirmed the next instalment of The Passion of the Christ would be split into “multiple” parts. Whether or not Gibson will focus on more biblical stories after what we’ll see in The Passion of the Christ 2 remains to be seen. However, since the filmmaker rarely – if ever – produces sequels to his films, the fact we might be getting not one but two new Passion films should be more than good enough for Gibson fans.
Familiar Cast In The Passion of the Christ 2
So far, three actors from the first Passion of the Christ have been confirmed for the sequel. Besides Caviezel’s Jesus, The Passion 2 will also see the return of Maia Morgenstern’s Mary and Francesco De Vito’s Peter.
As concrete details on the plot remain scarce, we still don’t know if other members of the original cast might return for the sequel. One thing we know, though, is that Mel Gibson won’t have the sole writing credit in The Passion of the Christ 2. He’ll be sharing the writing room with none other than Randall Wallace.
Gibson and Wallace first collaborated on the legendary Braveheart. With his work on films like Heaven is for Real, it’s clear Wallace has a knack for crafting compelling religious stories.
With most of the film’s principal photography done – with some scenes left shooting in Mexico still to go – the 2025 release date sounds entirely believable. It’s already been more than twenty years of waiting, so just a year more sounds bearable for any fan!
The Passion of the Christ: Resurrection - Chapter I |
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A sequel to The Passion of the Christ (2004) focuses on the events that occurred three days between the crucifixion and resurrection when Jesus Christ descended to Abraham's Bosom to preach and resurrect Old Testament saints. |
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| Studio: Icon Productions, Samuel Goldwyn Films |
| Running Time: n/a |
| Release Date: April 18, 2025 (may change) |
| Cast: Jim Caviezel, Maia Morgenstern, Fancesco De Vito |
| Director: Mel Gibson |
| Writers: Mel Gibson, Randall Wallace |
| Genre: Drama |
| Box Office: n/a |
