Gibson Finishes ‘The Resurrection of The Christ’, Sets Easter 2027 Release Date

Filming of the highly anticipated follow-on from The Passion of The Christ is done and dusted.

The Resurrection of The Christ now appears to be heading towards an intense period of post-production.

Mel Gibson’s two-part sequel, which will be based on the apostolic accounts of the resurrection of Jesus, has a release date of 26 March and 6 May 2027.

The films’ release dates align with Easter and Ascension Day.

Speculation about the news was sparked by multiple behind-the-scenes videos shared online through the YouTube account Verité Vision on 1 May.

They show Mel Gibson with the Lionsgate film crew standing on a beach to mark the end of 134 days of filming.

Originally set for an August 2025 start, Variety noted that actual filming began in October.

Verite Vision’s apparent video diary was posted in six parts and begins with a compilation of rare photos capturing actor camps, director shots, props and more.

As reported by The Daily Declaration in detail last April, The Passion’s sequel was filmed at Cinecittà Studios in Italy.

A New Jesus: The Recasting Controversy

A big change since then was Jim Caviezel’s exit due to the twenty-year age gap between the two scripts.

The Hollywood Reporter verified a NYPost Page Six exclusive, confirming the 57-year-old Caviezel, as well as Mary actress Monica Bellucci, were no longer part of the project.

Caviezel was 33 when he filmed The Passion.

Sources allegedly told Page Six that the reasons for The Resurrection’s recasting included the process of having to de-age the actor.

“They would have to do a lot of work with the original actors. Digital stuff, plus the scheduling.”

According to Page Six, the decision wasn’t arrived at easily.

Caviezel was replaced by Finnish actor Jaakko Ohtonen, known for his role in the Viking TV period drama The Last Kingdom.

‘Mind-Blowing’ and ‘Unforgettable’: What to Expect

Discussing the new film, Randall Wallace, who co-wrote the script with Gibson, offered a teaser to the Intersections podcast.

The Resurrection of The Christ, he declared, will be “unlike anything anyone has ever seen. It will be a movie that will be mind-blowing.”

“It may be something that is disturbing and haunting, but it will be unforgettable.”

Reluctant to reveal a whole lot, Wallace, who has studied the resurrection closely, said,

“I dare anyone to come up with an assertion that there is a bigger story to tell than the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”

“The notion that here are these common people — these disciples — you know, fishermen, tax collectors, prostitutes, and tavern owners.”

“They followed this man Jesus,” Wallace recalled in awe, “and they believed in Him. Now He’s gone, and they’re terrified.”

“Three days later, it doesn’t matter what you do to them; they will not stop saying they’ve seen Him alive.”

Talking with a friend who asserted he no longer believed Jesus said He was the way, Wallace said he can’t explain it.

Other than to say, “I know Jesus said He was the way, not a way.”

“Because if He had said, ‘I am a way,’ no one would have cared, right?”

They crucified him because of it, Wallace remarked.

Gibson and Wallace: A Partnership Built on Purpose

A lifelong Baptist, Wallace has worked at length with the blunt-talking, dedicated Catholic and Australian Hollywood legend.

Some of their major film credits include the blockbusters Braveheart, We Were Soldiers, and Hacksaw Ridge, among others.

Gibson apparently told Wallace he was going to have a Mass said for him.

This was to help Wallace during the writing process, Gibson said, “because the devil was going to come after him.”

He added that writing The Passion’s sequel would be “the greatest challenge he could really take on.”

Sharing some insight into how the film came about, Gibson then asserted that “This can’t be about money.”

“It can’t be to prove anything to anybody. Our hearts have to be pure.”

“I knew at that moment,” Wallace said, “how dedicated Gibson was, and that was really going to be a ride.”

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ODM Daily Commentary

Mel Gibson just finished filming the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Let that sink in.

The same man Hollywood tried to cancel into oblivion. The same man they called a drunk, a bigot, a madman. The same man who dared to make The Passion of the Christ — a film so graphically violent, so unapologetically Catholic, so utterly indifferent to critical opinion that it grossed over $600 million despite every pundit predicting failure.

Now he’s done it again. And this time, he’s going bigger.

Two films. Easter 2027. The resurrection and the ascension. No Jim Caviezel — too old, sadly — but a new Finnish actor named Jaakko Ohtonen stepping into the sandals of the risen Lord.

And Randall Wallace, the man who wrote Braveheart, co-writing the script. A Baptist and a Catholic walking into a studio to tell the greatest story ever told, with Gibson warning Wallace that “the devil was going to come after him” during the writing process.

Say what you will about Mel Gibson. The man understands spiritual warfare.

Here’s what makes this announcement genuinely significant: Hollywood is terrified of this film.

Not because it will flop. Because it won’t. Because The Passion proved there is a massive, underserved audience of believers who will turn out for a reverent, brutal, honest portrayal of the Gospels. Because the same industry that churns out Marvel sequels and Disney remakes cannot comprehend why millions of people would line up to watch a man get crucified for two hours.

They called The Passion “torture porn.” They called it “anti-Semitic.” They called it everything except what it actually was: a masterpiece of religious cinema that forced secular audiences to confront the physical reality of the cross.

Now Gibson is tackling the resurrection. And Wallace is already warning us: it will be “mind-blowing,” “disturbing,” “haunting,” and “unforgettable.”

Notice what he didn’t say. He didn’t say “inspirational” in the saccharine, Hallmark-card sense. He said disturbing. Because the resurrection wasn’t a gentle sunrise over a rolled-away stone. It was the moment death itself was unmade. It was terror and triumph wrapped in one.

Wallace’s reflection on the disciples is the key: “Three days later, it doesn’t matter what you do to them; they will not stop saying they’ve seen Him alive.”

That’s the proof. Not the empty tomb. Not the grave clothes. The transformed lives of cowards turned martyrs. That’s what Gibson needs to capture on screen.

Will he succeed? The man gave us Braveheart’s “Freedom” speech. He gave us Hacksaw Ridge’s unflinching faith. He gave us The Passion’s flayed and bleeding Christ. He knows how to put belief on screen without winking at the audience.

The release is a year away. The attacks have already begun — watch for the “controversy” articles to drop any day now. But here’s the thing about Mel Gibson: he’s been through worse. Much worse. And he’s still standing, still making films, still refusing to apologise for believing that Jesus is the way, not a way.

Hollywood wants him to fail. The secular press wants him to disappear. But Easter 2027, the lights will dim in cinemas around the world, and a Finnish actor will look into the camera and say the words that changed history: “He is risen.”

And millions of believers will say “Amen.”

See you at the cinema.

— ODM Daily