Mel Gibson is returning to direct the sequels to his $610 million The Pᴀssion of the Christ, but the stars of the original 2004 movie, Jim Caviezel and Monica Bellucci, won’t be.

First reported by Page Six, Gibson is currently meeting with actors in Rome to take over the roles of Jesus, which was originally played by Caviezel, and Mary Magdalene, portrayed by Bellucci. The news comes as production on The Pᴀssion of the Christ sequels are preparing to begin shooting for a targeted 2027 release date.

The Pᴀssion of the Christ depicted the final hours of Jesus’ life, including his crucifixion. Now, Gibson will tell the story of Jesus’ resurrection over the course of two movies – The Resurrection of the Christ: Part One, slated for March 26, 2027, and The Resurrection of the Christ: Part Two, on May 6, 2027; those dates are Good Friday and Ascension Day on the Christian calendar in 2027.

A reason given for the change in cast was based around what would have needed to been done to digitally de-age the actors. Famously, Jesus’ resurrection took place three days after his crucifixion, but it has been 21 years since The Pᴀssion of the Christ was released. Scheduling was also cited as an obstacle.

At the time of its release, The Pᴀssion of the Christ was the highest-grossing R-rated movie at the US box office of all time at $370 million. It held onto that record until ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine nearly doubled it in 2024.

While Gibson’s movie clearly struck a chord with audiences, critics were less favorable to the movie. The movie has a 49% score on Rotten Tomatoes. Among some of the criticism is the level of violence that Gibson used in the movie. The movie did ultimately receive three Oscar nominations for Best Cinematography, Best Original Score, and Best Makeup.

In addition to directing, Gibson is co-writing the script for The Resurrection of the Christ with Randall Wallace, who previously worked with Gibson on Braveheart and We Were Soldiers, receiving an Oscar nomination for this script for the former. Gibson previously described the scripts as an “acid trip.”

Gibson was last behind the camera as a director for 2025’s Flight Risk. Making The Resurrection of the Christ so quickly after is notable, considering that prior to Flight Risk Gibson only directed two movies in the 21 years since Pᴀssion of the Christ – Apocalypto in 2006 and Hacksaw Ridge in 2016.

Over that period, Gibson found himself involved in multiple off-screen controversies over his alcoholism and hateful comments. Gibson shared in 2020 that he was 10 years sober.

Lionsgate is the studio releasing The Resurrection of the Christ movies.