Mel Gibson’s highly-anticipated sequel to the 2004 film, The Passion of the Christ, is moving forward with a new cast, sparking outrage from fans. 

More than two decades after his successful biblical drama premiered, Mel Gibson, now 69, is preparing to release the much-anticipated sequel, The Resurrection of the Christ.

The original film, which depicted the final hours of Jesus Christ’s life, featured Jim Caviezel, now 57, as Christ, and Monica Bellucci, now 61, as Mary Magdalene. Due to the passage of time, new actors have been cast.

‘Recasting the entire film was a practical decision. Utilizing CGI and digital methods for de-aging would have been prohibitively expensive,’ a production insider shared with Variety.

The Resurrection of the Christ, which begins three days following Christ’s crucifixion on Good Friday, features Finnish actor Jaakko Ohtonen, age 36, as Jesus.

Meanwhile Cuban actress Mariela Garriga, 36, will take on the role of Mary Magdalene.

The upcoming sequel to Mel Gibson’s 2004 film, The Passion of the Christ, has generated both excitement and controversy among fans due to its new lineup; Jim Caviezel is shown portraying Jesus Christ.

Two decades since the original biblical drama, Gibson, at 69, moves forward with his delayed sequel, The Resurrection of the Christ; he was seen in Rome last September.

Ohtonen is known for playing the role of Wolland in the historical drama The Last Kingdom, which is set during the Viking invasions of 9th and 10th-century England. 

Meanwhile Garriga starred opposite Tom Cruise in the Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning films as Marie. 

The choice to recast sparked an outcry from fans, with one writing on X, ‘Recasting Jesus is blasphemous work.’

‘Caveziel must be devastated. He’s been talking about this film since 2012,’ another added of the actor, who’s a devout Roman Catholic.

‘I thought they were gonna use Jim And use CGI to make him look younger,’ someone else wrote.

‘Should’ve kept Jim Caviezel. Wonder why he left the film. Maybe script was too intense for him? Or too demanding? Idk, but Caviezel returning would made the film more powerful since you would’ve followed him from the first film.’

‘They couldn’t cast someone who at least kinda looks like Jim Caviezel?’

Others wondered if the actor and Gibson had a ‘falling out’ to prompt the decision. 

The original film starred Caviezel, 57, as Christ, and Monica Bellucci, 61, as Mary Magdalene, but they’ve had to be recast due to the time gap; Maia Morgenstern and Bellucci seen as Mary and Mary Magdalene

The Resurrection of the Christ will star Finnish actor Jaakko Ohtonen, 36 (L) in the role of Christ. Meanwhile Cuban actress Mariela Garriga, 36 (R) will take on the role of Mary Magdalene

The choice to recast sparked an outcry from fans, with one writing on X, ‘Recasting Jesus is blasphemous work’

Other stars of the new cast include Polish actress Kasia Smutniak, 46, who previously starred in the TV show Domina. She will replace Maia Morgenstern as Jesus’ mother, Mary. 

The Apostle Peter will be played by Italian star Pier Luigi Pasino, who stars on Netflix’s The Law According to Lidia Poët. 

Meanwhile Pontius Pilate will be played by Riccardo Scamarcio. The Italian actor recently led the Johnny Depp-directed biopic Modi.

English actor Rupert Everett, 66, is also set to appear in the film and has an ‘unspecified small but important role.’ 

The casting decision appears to be a recent one, as just in April Caviezel seemed to suggest that he was ready to reprise his role while appearing on the Arroyo Grande podcast. 

‘Now I get these bonus years and I had no idea [on the original film]. At the time, after I was done, it was done,’ he shared on the podcast.

Caviezel shared that he first learned there would be a sequel to The Passion of the Christ in 2013.

The actor previously revealed he nearly died while shooting The Passion of The Christ, claiming he was struck by lightning, suffered heart failure, a dislocated shoulder, and severe hypothermia.

When asked if he was ‘worried’ to take on the role again, he said, ‘Of course I am, but that will never [go away]… but I was worried on the last one.’

He said this time around he would like to ‘really stay in this moment,’ adding, ‘I want to enjoy this one more than I did the other one.’

‘It made sense to recast the whole film. They would have had to do all this CGI stuff, all this digital stuff — de-aging and all that — that would have been very costly,’ a source close to the production told Variety; Gibson seen on set with Caviezel in 2003

It comes after Caviezel — who previously revealed he nearly died while shooting the film — seemed to suggest that he was ready to reprise his role while appearing on the Arroyo Grande podcast in April

Polish actress Kasia Smutniak, 46 (L) will replace Morgenstern as Jesus’ mother, Mary, while Pontius Pilate will be played by Riccardo Scamarcio (R)

English actor Rupert Everett, 66, is also set to appear in the film and has an ‘unspecified small but important role’; He is seen in 2018

Gibson, Bruce Davey, and their company Icon Productions are producing The Resurrection of the Christ, with Lionsgate serving as the studio partner.

Gibson is expected to shoot the film in a number of ancient Southern Italian rural locations, including Ginosa, Matera, and Altamura. 

Plot details have remained under wraps, with Mel set to both co-write the script and also direct. 

The sequel is set to be split into two parts.

The first will premiere in theaters on Good Friday, March 26, 2027. Meanwhile part 2 will premiere on Ascension Day, Thursday, May 6, 2027.

Mel opened up about the project during an appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience earlier this year.

He stated that the upcoming movie is ‘very ambitious’ and said the premise will follow, ‘the fall of the angels to the death of the last apostle.’

Gibson continued, ‘I think in order to really tell the story properly you have to really start with the fall of the angels, which means you’re in another place, you’re in another realm. You need to go to hell. You need to go to Sheol.’

The star further expressed, ‘It’s about finding the way in that’s not cheesy or too obvious.’

‘I think I have ideas about how to do that and how to evoke things and emotions in people from the way you depict it and the way you shoot it. So I’ve been thinking about it for a long time.’

Mel admitted that tackling the film is ‘not going to be easy, and it’s going to require a lot of planning and I’m not wholly sure I can pull it off.’

Gibson stated that the upcoming movie is ‘very ambitious’ and said the premise will follow, ‘the fall of the angels to the death of the last apostle’; Seen on the Joe Rogan podcast this year

‘To tell you the truth, it’s super ambitious. But I’ll take a crack at it because that’s what you’ve got to do, right, walk up to the plate, right?’ 

The Passion Of The Christ was a box office success and brought in around $612 million globally.

The film cost $30 million to make, was shot in Italy and the dialogue was in Aramaic, Herbew and Latin.

The R-rated movie also courted controversy with its graphic violence.

The Oscar-nominated project also became the highest-grossing independent film of all time as well as highest-grossing Christian film of all time.