The Passion of the Christ 2: A new rumor suggests a sequel to Mel Gibson’s biblical drama is going into production

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph! This afternoon, a new rumor is sweeping across social media, suggesting Mel Gibson is ready to shoot The Passion of the Christ 2 later this year. To be absolutely clear, Jordan Ruimy, who writes for World of Reel, cites no sources for this exclusive information. According to Ruimy, Gibson is re-teaming with The Passion of the Christ actor Jim Caviezel for the sequel, The Passion of the Christ: Resurrection. The report suggests Resurrection has been developing for almost a decade.

Ruimy says The Passion of the Christ 2 focuses on “the twenty-four hours encompassing Jesus’ passion and the events that occurred three days between his crucifixion and resurrection.”

Regardless of this news not having been officially confirmed by Gibson, a follow-up has been rumoured about for years, with many wondering whether Jim Caviezel would be too old to reprise his role if they focus on the resurrection, given the original shot almost twenty years ago.

Mel Gibson directed and co-wrote The Passion of the Christ with Benedict Fitzgerald. The 2004 film earned $612 million worldwide, despite never being released in select territories. Gibson re-edited the film in 2005 after receiving requests for portions of the film’s most violent scenes to be omitted. Gibson obliged, not wanting groups who wished to share the movie to be discouraged.

“After the initial run in movie theaters, I received numerous letters from people across the country. Many told me they wanted to share the experience with loved ones but were concerned that the harsher images of the film would be too intense for them to bear. In light of this, I decided to re-edit The Passion of the Christ,” Gibson said about arranging another version of the film.

While this rumor is likely untrue, how would you feel if it were actually happening? The world has changed dramatically since The Passion of the Christ dominated the silver screen. Could today’s overly-sensitive masses handle Jesus coming back from the dead for box office dollars? Feel free to sound off in the comments.