Mel Gibson’s Resurrection of the Christ Movies Will Benefit From Major Change

Mel Gibson has finally completed work on his long-awaited Passion of the Christ sequel, The Resurrection of the Christ. These movies recently underwent a significant change that will be for the better.

Gibson returns to direct The Resurrection of the Christ: Part One and The Resurrection of the Christ: Part Two. Gibson co-wrote the scripts with Randall Wallace, based on a story by Gibson, Wallace, and Donal Gibson. The films will depict Jesus Christ’s resurrection three days after his crucifixion.

Jaakko Ohtonen will play Jesus Christ, replacing Jim Caviezel, who portrayed the role in The Passion of the Christ. Mariela Garriga replaces Monica Bellucci as Mary Magdalene. Pier Luigi Pasino, Kasia Smutniak, Riccardo Scamarcio, and Rupert Everett also star.

The Christian movies were originally scheduled for release in 2027: Part One on March 26, 2027 (Good Friday), and Part Two on May 6, 2027 (Ascension Day). Now, Lionsgate has shifted the release dates for both movies — Part One will arrive on May 6, 2027 (Ascension Day), and Part Two premieres on May 25, 2028 (Ascension Day & Memorial Day Weekend).

Why Mel Gibson’s Resurrection of the Christ movies will benefit from its release date change

While pushing back movies usually spells trouble, shifting the release dates for The Resurrection of the Christ movies is the right move. 40 days is not enough time between two movies of this magnitude. Some people see movies for the first time 40 days after their release date. Asking audiences to return for a second movie less than two months after the first is not a winning formula.

Look at the failure of Horizon: An American Saga as to why movies within the same saga cannot come out within six weeks of each other. Kevin Costner planned to release the first two movies in his four-part saga over one summer, with Chapter 1 on June 28, 2024, and Chapter 2 on August 16, 2024. After Chapter 1 flopped at the box office, Warner Bros. removed Chapter 2 from the release calendar. Almost two years later, Chapter 2 remains undated.

Gibson’s two-part project reportedly cost $200 million. It might be a Christian movie, but Lionsgate wants to make money off two films. The Passion of the Christ is the highest-grossing independent movie of all time at $612.1 million. The Resurrection of the Christs might not make Passion money, but separating the two movies by a year certainly gives Lionsgate a better chance to turn a profit.

Plus, if The Resurrection of the Christ: Part One fails or disappoints, Lionsgate now has more time for reshoots with the new date.

Source: Comingsoon.net