Mel Gibson is reportedly working on a sequel to The Passion Of The Christ.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Braveheart screenwriter Randall Wallace confirmed that he has begun work on a script telling the story of Jesus’ resurrection.
Nominated for an Academy Award for his work on Braveheart, Wallace reluctantly spilled the beans about the project, telling reporters that is becoming too difficult to keep secret. Meanwhile one of Gibson’s representatives declined to comment on the filmmaker and actor’s involvement in the sequel.
The most successful independent film of all time, earning $612 million on a $30 million budget, speculation about a sequel has been swirling for years. It picked up again recently though after Gibson was asked about a Passion follow up when he recently appeared as a surprise guest at Liberty University’s graduation ceremony to show an advanced screening of his upcoming World War II drama Hackshaw Ridge.
Expressing interest in the sequel, Gibson was however not specific about his involvement. According to Wallace though, Gibson and he had begun to get serious about the project while working on Hacksaw Ridge, which Wallace wrote and Gibson directed. Apparently, demand in the Christian community influenced their decision to work on another film.
“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.
There has been no studio or financial backing lined up for the project, and it is still very much in the early script stage. Still, according to Wallace, there are several financiers interested in investing. No surprises there though considering that Sony’s Risen, which was released in February and tells the story of the resurrection made $46 million back off a $20 million budget.
Wallace remained tight-lipped on any more details however, saying “it’s too early to talk money,” adding that “this is such a huge and sacred subject.”
After all Wallace, a religion major at Duke University, says the resurrection was a specialty of his. “I always wanted to tell this story,” he said, adding that “the Passion is the beginning and there’s a lot more story to tell.”
While there are no further details, in the meantime why not revisit the trailer for the first film and relive all the gory religious fun.
