Mel Gibson is on for another Christian movie, a sequel of the blockbuster "Passion of the Christ." Since the 2004 movie about Jesus' life was detailed on the big screen, it holds the record as the highest-grossing religious film until now.
Released in 2004 by the independent Newmarket Films, the $30 million budget "The Passion of the Christ" earned $612 million worldwide. Many would love to have a sequel but Gibson was reluctant.
For Christians, the death of Jesus Christ was an important part of spiritual salvation, but His resurrection that promises eternal life, was even more significant. Gibson's film showed it with Jesus standing up and walking out of His tomb. It looked like a promise of something more and many wanted the director to make a movie that focuses on the Resurrection itself.
Gibson was not interested, hinting that if he would instead make a film from the bible, it would be about the Jewish rebels who got their land back from the Greeks in the second century BC. However, he had a feud with Joe Eszterhas, the screenwriter, and in 2012, Warner Bros shelved the project.
In 2006, Gibson was arrested for drunk driving and made anti-Semitic comments to the arresting police officers. He got a child out of wedlock and his marriage fell apart. He was recorded giving racist and abusive comments at his girlfriend.
Now there is a word that Gibson is thinking of a sequel with Randall Wallace, the director of "We Were Soldiers" and writer of "Braveheart" and the upcoming "Hacksaw Ridge." Wallace confirmed to the Hollywood Reporter on July 9, Thursday, he and Gibson are working for Resurrection.
"The evangelical community considers The Passion the biggest movie ever out of Hollywood, and they kept telling us that they think a sequel will be even bigger," Wallace said. As of this time, however, the project has no financial backing or studio yet as it is still in the early script stage.
Wallace indicated that several financiers are interested. The project is huge and has a sacred subject. However, it is too early to talk about money.
As for another Gibson-made Bible epic, it remains unseen if it would be patronized by Christians again. Though Christians can be forgiving, their viewing habits are difficult to predict, according to Indie Wire.
A proof of that is "The Bible" series on History Channel three years ago by Roma Downey and Mark Burnett which was a huge hit. However, its sequel "A.D. The Bible Continues" was a flop despite being aired on a huge network with wider audience. NBC cancelled it after one season.
Watch the video below for some facts about Gibson's "Passion of the Christ."