Randall Wallace Shares How 'The Resurrection Of The Christ' Was Pitched To Mel Gibson

Randall Wallace, the writer for Mel Gibson’s upcoming two-part epic The Resurrection of the Christ, explains how the film was pitched to Mel Gibson and teased what viewers can expect.

In an interview on the Verité Vision YouTube channel, Wallace, who previously collaborated with Gibson on Hacksaw Ridge, Braveheart, and We Were Soldiers, shared that the idea came when they were promoting Hacksaw Ridge.

He explained that he was originally offered the job to direct the film, but after rewriting it, he had a scheduling conflict with Heaven Is For Real and suggested Gibson direct the film instead. Interestingly, Gibson had already been offered the film and had turned it down. However, after reading Wallace’s rewrite he signed on to the film.

From there, Wallace explained how he wanted to be with Gibson during the promotion of the film and that they went to a number of Protestant churches. While on this promotional tour in Dallas, Wallace pitched the Resurrection to him. He said, “We were having dinner one night, just the two of us, in Dallas. And I said, ‘You know, the thing we need to do is The Resurrection.’”

He continued, “It’s an interesting thing. Catholic friends have said- And I don’t want to overcharacterize anyone’s particular practice, but in Catholicism there’s much more emphasis on the Crucifixion, on the Passion. One Catholic friend of mine said, ‘We almost never talk about the Resurrection.’ And a Crucifix for a Catholic, Jesus is on the cross. For a Protestant, Christ has risen. He’s off the cross. ‘And we need to tell that story.’ And [Gibson] got really quiet for a moment. And Mel is absolutely brilliant and I knew he was listening really intently. And I said, ‘I’ll write a screenplay, give it to you. We’ll write it together. You do whatever you want to do, but we need to get going with this. This is the Mount Everest of all stories.’”

“And he got quiet again and he said, ‘I’m going to have a Mass said for you because Satan’s going to come after you.’ And I said, ‘Mel, Satan has so many Baptists, he doesn’t care about them.’ He’s just like, ‘He’s got all the Baptists he wants. What about you? You know, we need to pray for you.’ And now, it’s beautiful when somebody wants to have a Mass said for you, but he knew that it was the greatest challenge you could really take on. And it’s a testament to him that it was the challenge, the danger-. And one of the things he said to me was, ‘This can’t be for the money. It can’t be to prove anything to anybody. In this our hearts have to be pure.’ … I knew at that moment how dedicated he was and that this was really going to be a ride.”

Wallace then teased the film, “The thing that I can tell you about it is that it’s going to be unlike anything anyone has ever seen. It will be a movie that will be mind-blowing. It maybe something that is disturbing and haunting, but it will be unforgettable.”

The Resurrection of the Christ Part One will arrive in theaters on Good Friday, March 26, 2027.

Part Two will arrive on Ascension Day on May 6, 2027.

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