Mel Gibson says the long process of creating The Resurrection of the Christ has changed him spiritually as he prepares to bring one of Christianity’s central mysteries to the big screen.
In a new interview with EWTN host Raymond Arroyo, Gibson offered fresh details about the ambitious follow-up to his 2004 blockbuster The Passion of the Christ, including how the project has affected his own faith and why audiences should expect a more demanding story.
According to LifeSiteNews, Arroyo asked Gibson whether he was spiritually different after working on the new film more than two decades after The Passion of the Christ.
“You have to be (spiritually different),” Gibson responded.
The Resurrection of the Christ will expand considerably beyond the narrative approach of The Passion. According to LifeSiteNews, Arroyo described the new film as a “wild ride” through “all of salvation history.”
Gibson explained that the story will reach into biblical history, including scenes involving Abraham, as it seeks to place Christ’s Resurrection within the larger story of God’s plan of salvation. Viewers, he said, need to understand how salvation history is “fulfilled in one person.”
That broader scope appears to be one reason the project has taken so long to develop. Gibson said the new movie required 10 years of writing.
Unlike The Passion of the Christ, which presented its dialogue in ancient languages with subtitles, The Resurrection of the Christ will be in English.
Gibson told Arroyo that the change was driven by the complexity of the subject matter. While The Passion centered heavily on Christ’s suffering, he said the Resurrection presents an event that requires an even broader approach.
“Well, you had a focal point, and it was it was about human suffering, and it was about way more than that,” Gibson said of The Passion. “But that was a rather simpler message to get across.”
“I think the complexity of an event like the Resurrection, which is impossible to comprehend, really has to delve into more sources,” Gibson continued. “And I thought it was just silly to make people read subtitles in a foreign language when they were dealing with such heady concepts.”
“It asks more of you, but we help them along with their own language,” he added.
According to LifeSiteNews, the release schedule for the two-part film has also changed. The Resurrection of the Christ: Part One is now scheduled for May 6, 2027, while Part Two is scheduled for May 25, 2028. Both dates fall on Ascension Day.
The films had previously been expected to arrive on Good Friday and Ascension Day in 2027.
Before audiences see the Resurrection films, Gibson’s original Passion will return to theaters. The Passion of the Christ is scheduled for a theatrical rerelease from September 10 through September 17, with moviegoers also set to receive a sneak peek at The Resurrection of the Christ: Part One, according to LifeSiteNews.
More than two decades after The Passion became a cultural phenomenon, Gibson’s latest comments suggest the new project is intended to explore not only the Resurrection itself but its place within the entire Christian understanding of salvation.
The conversation ended with Gibson invoking realities that have long occupied an important place in Catholic spiritual reflection.
“Death, Judgment, Heaven, Hell,” Gibson said, naming the Four Last Things.
Arroyo closed the interview with a fitting response: “I’m glad there’s a Resurrection coming.”
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