Mel Gibson, the Academy Award-winning director of the blockbuster “The Passion of the Christ,” recently opened up about the long journey that led up to the making of that film’s sequel, “The Resurrection of the Christ,” which is slated to start filming in Summer 2025.
For context, on May 17, 2025, Mel Gibson appeared on stage with Joe Deckelmeier of the film website ScreenRant at Fan Expo Philadelphia and talked about the hard work that has gone into “The Resurrection of the Christ” thus far, explaining to fans that that it took “about eight years” to write the script because of the intensity of the subject matter, adding, “It’s not one film, it’s two.”
Moreover, prior to appearing at Fan Expo, Gibson had briefly discussed the film in an appearance on Joe Rogan’s podcast on January 9, 2025, announcing that “Resurrection” would not have a “linear narrative,” saying of the plot, “You have to juxtapose the central event that I’m trying to tell with everything else around it in the future, in the past and in other realms, and that’s kind of getting a little sci-fi out there.”
During the Q&A at Fan Expo, Gibson was asked, “With ‘The Resurrection of the Christ’ set to continue the story of ‘The Passion of the Christ,’ how did you approach elevating the narrative and scale of the sequel compared to the original?” In response, Gibson explained that he spent years on the script, adding that it might not suffice to call “Resurrection” a sequel to “Passion,”
“Because it’s a very complex and almost impossible to understand subject.”
Moving on, Gibson explained that he and his writing team had to deeply research “a great deal of all salvation history and theology,” apparently referring to the many different theories of the atonement — the means by which Jesus Christ’s resurrection paid the penalty for the sins of mankind. Gibson added, “It was a very difficult thing to find and synthesize, because you have to understand, firstly, why it had to happen, and to understand something like that, you have to think like why is mankind so important in this process.”
Continuing, Gibson told the crowd that while researching for the film, he was mystified by the question, “Why are the big realms of good and evil slugging it out for the hearts, minds, and souls of mankind?” He added, “Why us? We’re just a bunch of f—-ed-up things. We’re so imperfect…speak[ing] for myself.”
Next, Gibson told the crowd that that question was the impetus behind the making of the film, calling the cosmic battle between good and evil “that whole huge story” and opining, “I think in order to understand that, you have to, you have to start with the fall of the angels in the firmament, before right at the beginning.” He added, “What did that look like? I know what it looks like. It’s not one film, it’s two films, because it’s massive.”
Furthermore, on May 15, 2025, just two days before Gibson took the stage at Fan Expo Philadelphia, Lionsgate confirmed that it was partnering with Gibson to produce the film, with Lionsgate CEO Adam Fogelson saying, “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.”
Watch a clip from the interview with Gibson: