(JustPatriots.com)- After nearly a decade of anticipation, the sequel to Mel Gibson’s “Passion of the Christ” will finally begin filming in the spring.
“Passion of the Christ: Resurrection” will pick up 24 hours after the death of Jesus and will cover the three days between the crucifixion and the resurrection, according to a report from the World of Reel.
Jim Caviezel, the actor who played Jesus in Gibson’s 2004 Biblical blockbuster, will return in the title role for the sequel.
Gibson’s “Passion of the Christ,” which was made for just $39 million, brought in over $612 million, making it one of the top 10 highest-grossing R-rated movies of all time.
For years after “Passion of the Christ” was released, Mel Gibson said that a sequel was planned, but he wanted to take his time in writing it. In the early stages of development, Gibson explained that it was “a very big subject” and he didn’t “want to just do a simple rendering of it.” Gibson said he wanted to have the time to fully read and explore the “deeper meanings of what it’s about,” and that would “take some doing.”
So far, Gibson, working alongside “Braveheart” screenwriter Randall Wallace, has produced six drafts of “Passion of the Christ: Resurrection.”
In a 2016 interview with the Hollywood Reporter, Randall Wallace said those in the “evangelical community” have said that the 2004 film was “the biggest movie ever out of Hollywood,” and have “kept telling us that they think a sequel will be even bigger.”
Randall told the Hollywood Reporter that he has always wanted to tell the story of Jesus, adding that the 2004 film was “the beginning, and there’s a lot more story to tell.”
In anticipation of a sequel, many fans have created “trailers” for the upcoming movie.
Watch one fan-created trailer HERE.
