A film about Mary Magdalene, starring Rooney Mara as the title character and Joaquin Phoenix as Jesus, is set to bow in March. But Jim Caviezel will also be returning to the big screen to reclaim his crown of thorns. It turns out Mel Gibson has actually started work on a 14-years-later sequel to The Passion of the Christ. Caviezel confirmed to USA Today that Passion 2 is on because Gibson has “cracked” the story and it’s going to be the most remarkable thing you’ve ever seen. “I won’t tell you how he’s going to go about it,” said the actor, who will be reprising his role as God’s son. “But I’ll tell you this much: The film he’s going to do is going to be the biggest film in history. It’s that good.”
The first movie was a hit, generating more than $600 million worldwide, and Gibson actually shared hints with USA Today about a Passion 2 plot back in 2016. “The Resurrection. Big subject. Oh, my God,” said Gibson, describing how Christ rose three days after being entombed. “We’re trying to craft this in a way that’s cinematically compelling and enlightening so that it shines new light, if possible, without creating some weird thing.” So there you have it: no weird things in the next Passion movie, and hopefully a lot less flaying with scourges, too. It was more than enough the first time.