Mel Gibson has partnered with Lionsgate for his next film, The Resurrection of the Christ, a sequel to The Passion of the Christ.
In a press release, Lionsgate Motion Picture Group Chair Adam Fogelson said, “For many, many people across the globe, ‘The Resurrection of the Christ’ is the most anticipated theatrical event in a generation. It is also an awe-inspiring and spectacularly epic theatrical film that is going to leave moviegoers worldwide breathless.”
“Mel is one of the greatest directors of our time, and this project is both deeply personal to him and the perfect showcase for his talents as a filmmaker. My relationship with Mel and Bruce dates back 30 years, and I am thrilled to be partnering with them once again on this landmark event for audiences,” he added.
Gibson also stated, “Lionsgate’s brave, innovative spirit and nimble, can-do attitude have inspired me for a long time, and I couldn’t think of a more perfect distributor for The Resurrection of the Christ."
“I’ve enjoyed working with Adam and the team several times over recent years,” he continued. “I know the clever ingenuity, passion, and ambition the entire team commits to their projects and I’m confident they will bring everything they can to the release of this movie.”
Along with this announcement, Lionsgate released a title teaser for the film.
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It was reported in March that Gibson and his Icon Productions would begin shooting the film in Italy in August.
Rome’s Cinecittà Studios CEO Manuela Cacciamani said in an interview with Il Sole 24 Ore, “I can confirm that the next film directed by Mel Gibson, produced by Icon Productions, The Resurrection of Christ, will be entirely shot in Cinecittà starting in August and needs many theaters and stage constructions.”
As for what to expect from the film, Gibson told Stephen Colbert in 2016, “It’s more than a single event. It’s an amazing event. And to underpin it with the things around it is really the story, to sort of enlighten what that means.”
“It’s not just about the event,” he continued. “It’s not some kind of chronological telling of just that event. That could be boring and you think, ‘Well, we’ve read that.'”
He elaborated, “It’s predictable in that, okay, now we know what happens. Then this happens, then this happens, and this happens. But what are the other things around it that happen?”
Gibson continued, “You’re going all over the place. What happened in three days?” He then hinted that he might explore Christ’s descent into hell, “I’m not sure, but it’s worth thinking about, isn’t it. Get your imagination going, right?”
Earlier this year, Gibson provided more details in an interview with Joe Rogan.
First, he confirmed that Caviezel will reprise his role as Jesus Christ, “You use him, again.”
Rogan then interjected, “Caviezel.”
Gibson confirmed, “I know it’s 20 years later. It’s supposed to be three days later, but he got 20 years older. I think I have to use a few techniques that they’ve started to get really good… You can actually get some of the same people.”
“There’s a lot required because it’s an acid trip,” Gibson said. “When we wrote it, it is like-. I’ve never read anything like it. My brother and I and Randall [Wallace] all sort of congregated on this. So there’s some good heads put together, but there’s some crazy stuff. And I think in order to really tell the story properly you have to really start with the fall of the angels, which is you’re in another place, you’re in another realm. You need to go Hell. You need to go to Sheol.”
Rogan then asked, “So you’re going to have Hell? You’re going to have Satan all that?”
Gibson responded, “Yeah. Sure. You got to have his origin.”
When asked how he would depict, he said, “This is a good question and I think I have ideas about how to do that and ideas about how to evoke things and emotions in people from the way you depict it and the way you shoot it. So I’ve been thinking about it for a long term. It’s not going to be easy and it’s going to require a lot of planning and I’m not wholly sure I can pull it off to tell you the truth, it’s really super ambitious. But I’ll take a crack at it. ‘Cause that’s what you got to do, right, walk up to the plate, right?”
“I think I can get it,” he added. “But it’s not about me. It’s about something else.”
Gibson later stated, “It’s about trying to find the way in that’s not like cheesy or obvious, but actually-. It’s almost like a magic trick in a sense. It’s diversion. It’s obfuscate this, show that. Look over here.”
He then shared, “It’s very ambitious. That’s all I’ll say. It took a long time to write. It’s really ambitious and it goes from the fall of the angels to the death of the last Apostle.”
What do you make of Gibson teaming up with Lionsgate for The Resurrection of the Christ?
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Having swore off H-wood decades ago, this is practically the only movie I can get behind.
Mel had to do things to get as big as he was before he became an enemy of H-wood. I'm not cutting him any breaks - except that he now appears to be trying to do the right thing.
Prodigal actor? Redemption is always a beautiful thing. As men, we might not forgive him if we knew the truth. But God knows the heart.
I applaud Mel's efforts.
I hadn't heard about this. Good post - Thanks for the info.