It sure does look like we’re going close to Jesus’ resurrection. At least on film.
While it’s been common knowledge that actor/director Mel Gibson has been attempting to crack the code on the follow-up to the absolutely massive “The Passion of the Christ,” there hasn’t been much news about it in recent months. Last we heard, Gibson had begun working with “Heaven is for Real” writer/director Randall Wallace on a script for what will be called “The Resurrection.” Spoiler alert for those who haven’t seen ‘The Passion:’ Jesus dies, but then he’s supposed to come back. The source material alone makes the film ripe for a sequel.
Well, you can write a film about Jesus’ resurrection, but you also need to make sure that Jesus himself is signed up. Judging by a recent interview with USA Today, actor Jim Caviezel, who portrayed Jesus Christ in ‘The Passion,’ is ready to come back as the Savior. And not only is Caviezel excited about coming back for “The Resurrection,” he also has some bold predictions.
“I won’t tell you how [Gibson’s] going to go about it,” Caviezel says. “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.”
Watch out “Avatar,” Jesus is coming for the top spot!
Based on the performance of “The Passion of the Christ,” while hyperbolic, Caviezel might be onto something with that comment. With a production budget of only $30 million, ‘The Passion far exceeded everyone’s expectations with a global haul of over $611 million. While in today’s numbers, that’s what an average major blockbuster will do, keep in mind that this was 2004 and for an R-rated movie, with dialogue entirely in Aramaic.
Almost 15 years later, the film still holds the record for highest domestic gross for an R-rated film. And in the time since the film’s release, faith-based entertainment has seen an increase in popularity. Of course, reaching “Avatar”-esque numbers is a stretch, there’s every reason to believe this movie could be massive blockbuster, up there with anything released by Marvel Studios. To be fair, Jesus is pretty much the first superhero anyway.
No release date has been confirmed for “The Resurrection,” yet. With Caviezel talking about how it’s ready to move forward, we could be looking for Jesus’ return sooner rather than later.