Mel Gibson is ditching ancient languages for English in his upcoming two-part follow-up to “The Passion of the Christ,” describing the new epic as a “trip” that will take moviegoers across spiritual realms.
Gibson spoke exclusively with Fox News contributor Raymond Arroyo about his upcoming two-part follow-up, “The Resurrection of the Christ,” including his decision to use English in the new films.
The interview comes as the original 2004 film returns to theaters for a special Fathom Events re-release.
The full interview is featured on the “Arroyo Grande Show with Raymond Arroyo” YouTube channel.
“You had a focal point, and it was about human suffering,” Gibson said of the original film. “That was a rather simpler message to get across, and I think the complexity of an event like the resurrection, which is impossible to comprehend really, one has to delve more into sources.
“I thought it was just silly to make people read subtitles in a foreign language when they were dealing with such heady concepts. So, it asks more of you, but we help them along with their own language.”
“The Passion of the Christ” is a biblical drama depicting the crucifixion of Jesus Christ in excruciating detail. It starred Jim Caviezel as Jesus and focused on the final 12 hours of Jesus’ life, with dialogue mainly in Aramaic, Hebrew and Latin.
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“The Resurrection of the Christ: Part One” is set for release May 6, 2027, with Part Two scheduled for May 25, 2028. While the original film focused on the final hours of Jesus’ life, Gibson said the new films will explore the resurrection and the days that followed.
Gibson said the upcoming films take viewers on a “trip” into other realms and explore how humanity is connected to them. He said the films are meant to show viewers the “big picture.”
“It takes a pretty broad trip [from] our own broken world to, you know, other realms and stuff with different natures, and connects all of them, I hope — because we’re all connected, and we all know we’re connected,” he said.
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Gibson said the writing and pre-production process has taken more than a decade, and the new films are arriving over 20 years after the original premiered. He suggested the timing may be for a reason, saying, “There’s no accidents anywhere.”
“I thought I was late. It was just too late, 23 years later, but it’s probably just right. It’s not my timing,” Gibson said.
When asked whether he considers the project his own “resurrection” as a filmmaker, Gibson described the undertaking as a transformative, communal journey.
“It’s a monster. It’s a massive undertaking,” Gibson said. “I think, how can one not be changed by just being involved in that? And I didn’t do it alone, either. There was a lot of people that came with me. So, it’s a journey, right? That was a communal experience.”
