More than 14 years after the original film proved to be a box office smash, it looks like Mel Gibson is finally ready to make a sequel to The Passion of the Christ.
Made for just $30 million and with no big Hollywood stars in leading roles, Gibson's film took the world by storm in 2004. It earned over $611 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing R-rated film in North America at the time.
To this day, the movie is still the highest-grossing non-English language film ever made.
Audiences and church groups packed into theaters to watch Gibson's take on the final 12 hours before Jesus's crucifixion. Now, it seems like Gibson is ready to pick up where he left off.
Last year, the actor and director hinted that he was " trying to craft" the story of Jesus's resurrection "in a way that's cinematically compelling and enlightening," but he also admitted the process seemed "never-ending."
Now, the original film's star, Jim Caviezel, says the project is moving ahead. And he's shared new details about what fans should expect from The Passion of the Christ: Resurrection.
Gibson admitted that adapting the story of Christ's return from the dead was "a tall order," and Caviezel says the director's plans for the sequel are epic.
The actor, now 49, will return to play Jesus in Resurrection, and he has high hopes for the film.
"I won't tell you how he's going to go about it. But I'll tell you this much, the film he's going to do is going to be the biggest film in history," the actor told USA Today. "It's that good."
He went on to tease that, "There are things that I cannot say that will shock the audience," but promised fans of the first movie, "It's great. Stay tuned."
Braveheart screenwriter Randall Wallace, who also wrote the first movie, is helping Gibson write the script for the sequel, and promises "there's a lot more to tell."
In an interview about his plans for the sequel last year, Gibson hinted at a "vast, theological experience," which would include stories "in other realms."
"It gets pretty wild," he joked, "it's like an acid trip."
There's no telling if the sequel will live up to the original Passion's success, but Caviezel says the long wait between the two movies served a purpose.
"Braveheart, that's a film that took a long time to be able to crack," he said. "The same thing for Passion. And the same thing for this. He's finally got it. So that is coming."
Are you excited for the sequel?
