Mel Gibson’s ‘Resurrection of the Christ’ Finds New Jesus and Mary Magdalene
Mel Gibson is back with a sequel to his 2004 hit The Passion of the Christ. The new film, called The Resurrection of the Christ, has started filming in Rome at Cinecittà Studios. Finnish actor Jaakko Ohtonen, known for The Last Kingdom, will play Jesus, taking over from Jim Caviezel, who starred in the original movie.
The film’s cast has been completely changed. Mariela Garriga, a Cuban actress who appeared in the Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning films, will play Mary Magdalene. Kasia Smutniak, a Polish-born actress, will take the role of Mary, while Italian actor Pier Luigi Pasino plays Peter.
Pontius Pilate will be portrayed by Italy’s Riccardo Scamarcio, who recently appeared in the biopic Modì. Rupert Everett will also appear in a smaller but important role.
A source close to the production told Variety, “Because of the time frame in which ‘The Resurrection of the Christ’ takes place — three days after Christ’s crucifixion on Good Friday — it made sense to recast the whole film. They would have had to do all this CGI stuff, all this digital stuff — de-aging and all that — that would have been very costly.”
Earlier this year, Caviezel had mentioned on the “Arroyo Grande” podcast that he was ready to return as Jesus, but the role ultimately went to Ohtonen. He is 36 years old and best known for his role as the warrior Wolland in Netflix’s The Last Kingdom.
Gibson is producing the films with Bruce Davey and their Icon Productions company, with Lionsgate handling the release. The original movie, famous for being spoken in Aramaic, Hebrew, and Latin, focused on the final hours of Jesus’ life.
Gibson has described the sequels as an “a**** trip” and said he had “never read anything like” the scripts, which he co-wrote with Braveheart screenwriter Randall Wallace. The new story is expected to focus on Jesus’ resurrection.
The Resurrection of the Christ Part One will release on Good Friday, March 26, 2027, and Part Two will follow 40 days later on Ascension Day, May 6.
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