Mel Gibson’s Long-Awaited Sequel to ‘The Passion of the Christ’ to Release as Two Films in 2027
The faith-based entertainment industry is booming, and popular shows and feature films like The Chosen, House of David, and King of Kings have elevated biblical storytelling into the mainstream conversation. Yet the roots of the genre’s popularity can be traced back to Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ (2004). The immense commercial success of that film paved the way for subsequent faith-based stories in Hollywood. Ironically, the film held the record for the highest grossing R-rated film of all time until it was finally surpassed by 2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine.
In the years since The Passion of the Christ was released, there has been much talk of a sequel that would depict the rest of the gospel narrative. But that sequel, The Resurrection of the Christ, has been continually derailed by production delays and several off-screen controversies involving Gibson and the creative talent. At long last, it appears the wait is nearly over—and audiences are poised to get even more than they expected. Like Jesus multiplying the loaves and fishes to feed the masses, according to Variety, the long-awaited sequel will be released in two parts in 2027. Part One is set to release on March 26 (corresponding with Good Friday), and Part Two will follow on May 6 (a religious date celebrated as “Ascension Day”).
How Gibson chooses to depict the resurrection of Christ remains to be seen, with some of his interview remarks raising eyebrows. In an appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast earlier this year, Gibson compared the sequel to an “acid trip.” He went on to explain, “My brother and I and Randall all sort of congregated on this. So there’s some good heads put together, but there’s some crazy stuff . . . And 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.”
Audiences will have to wait until next year to see how these ideas take shape in the final film and whether the sequel is a worthy follow-up to its beloved predecessor. Jesus was resurrected three days after the crucifixion, but moviegoers have had to wait several decades to witness the cinematic depiction of that pivotal event. The Passion of the Christ was a cultural landmark event, and Christian audiences can pray that the sequel will be equally as impactful.
