Lionsgate Studios has officially announced premiere dates for Mel Gibson's Passion of the Christ sequel

Movie studio Lionsgate presented the first shots and approved the release schedule of the long-awaited sequel to the biblical epic «The Passion of the Christ». As reported by Christian Today, the new picture, titled The Resurrection of the Christ, will be divided into two parts. The release of the first part is scheduled for May 6, 2027, which coincides with the Ascension holiday, and the second part will be released on May 25, 2028.

Production of the tape under the direction of director Mel Gibson is moving ahead of schedule. Principal photography, which lasted 134 days, took place in historical locations in Italy, including Rome, Matera, Bari and Brindisi. Adam Fogelson, chairman of Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, emphasized the scale of the work, calling the footage from the film «living masterpieces of painting» and noting that Gibson has created a project of extraordinary ambition, which the world has been waiting for more than two decades.

Mel Gibson himself described the film as his most important «mission» and the result of twenty years of creative labor. The script, co-written with Randall Wallace, will touch on complex theological aspects, including the stay of Christ in hell and the fall of angels. The director admitted that the project required his full commitment as an artist, emphasizing that for him it is much more than just a movie.

In the cast has made notable changes: the role of Jesus will perform Jaakko Ohtonen, replacing Jim Caviezel. Also in the picture involved Mariela Garriga, Pier Luigi Pasino, Kasia Smutnyak and Rupert Everett. Recall, the original film «The Passion of the Christ», released in 2004, became a cultural phenomenon and collected more than 610 million dollars at the global box office, remaining one of the highest-grossing R-rated films in history.