While there have been whispers circulating about a rumored sequel to Mel Gibson’s massively controversial biblical drama “The Passion of the Christ” recently, the controversial leading man/filmmaker will returning to direct a feature long before that. “Hacksaw Ridge,” Gibson’s first effort behind the camera since 2006’s “Apocalypto,” is slated for a very awards-friendly theatrical release this coming November.
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The tale of farm-boy-turned-conscientious-objector Desmond Dodd, “Ridge” sounds like another ambitious, violent epic that should be very much in Gibson’s wheelhouse, thematically speaking. In an interview with Gibson at the Sydney Film Festival last week for If, he added that the film will largely be bereft of digital effects. “We do some digital stuff, and I’m getting more and more comfortable with that, although I don’t dig it. I like to do stuff actual, in-camera. We had devices on this that I hadn’t seen before, so it made the combat stuff really cool. It’s pretty brutal, but that’s the nature of it.”
Gibson also reserved ample praise for his cast, particularly leading man Andrew Garfield, who is gearing up for a pretty major year with this and Martin Scorsese’s upcoming religious drama “Silence.” Gibson gushes over the young actor, calling him “amazingly warm” and “the nicest guy on Earth.” He also went on to praise the actor’s intense-sounding commitment to the role: “He never slipped out of character the entire time he was in this country. He never let the accent go, but he functioned in conversation with wit and spontaneity.”
Shot in Sydney for around 55 million U.S. dollars, the WWII-set film could be the comeback Gibson’s been looking for —which is to say, if audiences are ready to forgive him for his various mid-2000s antics. And while his productivity has slowed somewhat in recent years, Gibson shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, in addition to the upcoming “The Passion” sequel, Gibson already has ideas for another movie he’d like to make.
“I’ve been developing one thing for over ten years, set back in the fifteenth century of Italy. It has all the trappings of a Jacobean tragedy, and I want to make it like that, even to the point of soliloquies and stuff.” Sounds like the kind of big, bloody tale that would appeal to Gibson. If “Hacksaw Ridge” ends up being an awards season contender in the later half of this year, the director might just get his wish yet. Further details on that production are not known at this time.
Lionsgate will release “Hacksaw Ridge” on November 4th of this year.