Lionsgate has announced the release dates and unveiled first-look images for “The Resurrection of the Christ,” the long-awaited follow-up to “The Passion of the Christ,” and confirmed that the biblical epic will arrive in theatres in two parts beginning in 2027.
In a statement sent to The Christian Post, the studio said principal photography on the film, directed by Mel Gibson, wrapped ahead of schedule after 134 days of filming across Italy, including locations in Rome, Matera, Bari, Ginosa, Craco and Brindisi.
“The Resurrection of the Christ: Part One” will be released May 6, 2027, coinciding with Ascension Day, which commemorates the day Christ physically ascended into Heaven on the 40th day after His resurrection, while “Part Two” is slated for May 25, 2028, during Memorial Day weekend and Ascension Day.
The studio previously announced the sequel would be released on March 26, 2027, followed by “Part Two” on May 6, 2027, on Good Friday and Ascension Day, respectively.
The cast for the sequel includes Jaakko Ohtonen (replacing Jim Caviezel as Jesus), Mariela Garriga, Pier Luigi Pasino, Kasia Smutniak, Riccardo Scamarcio and Rupert Everett.
“Mel is a true visionary with an artist’s eye for scale and a storyteller’s instinct for emotional truth,” said Adam Fogelson, chair of the Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, in a statement announcing the completion of filming. “Every image we’ve seen from set feels like a masterwork painting brought to life.”
Fogelson added that Gibson created “a film of extraordinary ambition that audiences worldwide have been waiting to experience for over 20 years.”
In a statement, Gibson described the project as “powerful” and said the film had consumed much of his creative life over the past two decades.
“I’m deeply grateful to my incredibly talented cast and crew for pouring their hearts into this production,” Gibson said. “This film represents a major part of my life’s work, and it has demanded everything of me as a filmmaker and as an artist.
“This is far more than a film to me. It’s a mission I’ve carried for over twenty years to tell what I believe is the most important story in human history,” he added.
The director also said reuniting with collaborators from “The Passion of the Christ” helped bring the new story to the screen “exactly as I envisioned it.”
Released in 2004, "The Passion of the Christ" became a cultural phenomenon and remains one of the highest-grossing R-rated films of all time. Made on a reported $30 million budget, the film earned more than $610 million worldwide, including $370 million domestically.
Gibson, who co-wrote the screenplay with “Braveheart” writer Randall Wallace, has previously described the sequel as exploring tough theological themes, including Hell, Sheol, the fall of angels and the origin of Satan. He characterized the script as “an acid trip,” signaling a departure from a straightforward retelling of the Gospel narrative.
In a 2022 interview with CP, Gibson revealed he’s drawn to stories that highlight redemption and the need for a Saviour.
“I've been taught from a young age that we're flawed, and you’re going to make mistakes,” he reflected. “We're broken, and we need help. Usually, the best way to get help is to ask for it. And well, who do we ask? We're asking something better than us. And the minute you acknowledge that there is something better than you, you might get something that resembles humility, which is really the key to the whole thing.”
Gibson encouraged the next generation to “stick” to their “convictions” even though it’s “hard” in an increasingly polarized society.
“Sometimes you're presented with choices or put in places that are very difficult, and some of those choices are hard,” he said. “You just have to examine your own conscience and take the right road, I think. … There's no right way; there are a million wrong ways, and you just have to eliminate those or just use your best discernment to get through it."
“But it’s hard, man,” he added. “Life's hard. But we're all going. We’ve all got a boulder we’re dragging.”
