Although the son of God is finally getting his long-awaited sequel, The Resurrection of Christ will not feature the return of Mel Gibson‘s original cast.
Following their performances as Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene in The Passion of the Christ (2004), Deadline can confirm that Jim Caviezel and Monica Bellucci will not reprise their role in the sequel, which is currently casting their replacements in Rome.
Page Six previously broke the news, citing scheduling conflicts and the need for digital de-aging to have the actors reprise their roles more than 20 years later.
In April, Caviezel anticipated returning as Christ in Resurrection. “Now I get these bonus years and I had no idea [during the original film]. At the time, after I was done, it was done,” he said on the Arroyo Grande podcast.
“Am I scared? Yes. But if I wasn’t, I wouldn’t want to work with that actor,” noted Caviezel, adding: “Of course I am, but that will never [go away] … but I was worried on the last one.”
Jim Caviezel in ‘The Passion of the Christ’ (2004) (Newmarket/Courtesy Everett Collection)
Deadline previously reported that Gibson’s sequel will release in two parts from Lionsgate in 2027, with Part One debuting on Good Friday, March 26, 2027, and Part Two opening 40 days later on Ascension Day, Thursday, May 6, 2027.
Plot details for The Resurrection of the Christ are under wraps. Gibson’s original film, starring Caviezel as Jesus, was a landmark title that up until last year held the record as the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time domestically. The film, portraying the last 12 hours of Christ’s life, debuted to an opening weekend of $83 million on its way to taking in $370 million in North American theaters and more than $610 million globally off a $30 million production budget. It also garnered three Oscar nominations in the categories of Makeup, Cinematography and Original Score.
