Plans Revealed For Sequel To Mel Gibson’s ‘The Passion Of The Christ’

For more than a decade, there have been rumors that a sequel would be coming for Mel Gibson’s huge blockbuster The Passion of the Christ. Every now and then, there would be the possibility of it happening, but then talk would disappear. Now, plans for the sequel have not only been revealed once again, but now they’ve been confirmed.

The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed that screenwriter Randall Wallace is writing the follow-up film to the 2004 hit The Passion of the Christ. The movie is being considered a sequel and will focus on the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Wallace was nominated for an Academy Award for writing Braveheart, which ended up being Mel Gibson’s best picture winner at the Oscars. They’ve worked together in the past, but it’s not known if they will be working together again for this sequel as Gibson’s rep would not comment on if the actor/director will be involved in the project.

Apparently, Wallace has been working on the script to The Passion of the Christ sequel for quite some time now, but wanted to keep it a secret. He said that it was getting too hard to keep the project under wraps and felt it was time to finally let the truth be known.

The religious studies major from Duke University has wanted to write this script for a long time and he said it picks up where the previous film left off.

“I always wanted to tell this story. The Passion is the beginning and there’s a lot more story to tell.”

At first, some may find it hard to believe that there is going to be a sequel to The Passion of the Christ, but honestly, why can’t there be? Telling the tale of the resurrection of Jesus Christ is more than enough material for a film, and that’s not even delving further into the New Testament of The Bible.

Three days after being crucified, Jesus Christ resurrected from the tomb and then appeared numerous others times to various people. Wallace has not said how far into the New Testament he will go with the script, but he does have plenty of source material to work with.

With the huge amount of money made by Passion of the Christ, it is very likely that the sequel will do the same. At this time, though, Wallace is not ready to go down that road.

“The evangelical community considers The Passion the biggest movie ever out of Hollywood, and they kept telling us that they think a sequel will be even bigger. It’s too early to talk money. This is such a huge and sacred subject.”

There has been no talk of casting as of yet, and it’s not known if Jim Caviezel will return for the lead role of Jesus Christ. It’s not known who will play the parts of Mary Magdalene, Jesus’ disciples, or any others in the film

At that point, money will certainly be a part of the discussion as it may be difficult to make the sequel on the same $30 million budget that The Passion of the Christ was made on.

Last month at the graduation ceremony of Liberty University, Mel Gibson showed up and was asked about this particular sequel. Gibson said he was interested in making the film, but never said how involved he would be. That is, if he will be involved at all.

The Passion of the Christ was a huge blockbuster that made $612 million on a very mere $30 million budget, and it has withstood the tests of time. Mel Gibson’s hit film brought forth a lot of controversy, plenty of emotion, and praise all at the same time. Now, more than a decade later, the sequel is in the process of being written and the details show that it could lead to yet another hit.

[Image via 20th Century Films]