Jim Caviezel will not return to play Jesus Christ for director Mel Gibson‘s forthcoming follow-ups to the smash hit The Passion of the Christ, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.
Lionsgate is set to release the two-film project The Resurrection of the Christ theatrically in 2027, with the production aiming to begin soon in Rome. Key roles will be recast for the new movies, as Caviezel will not reprise the titular part of Jesus, while Monica Bellucci also won’t return as Mary Magdalene.
Telling the story of Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion, The Passion of the Christ was a box office sensation when it hit theaters Feb. 25, 2004, surpassing $600 million globally. Until last year, the movie’s $370 million box office sum in North America made it the highest-grossing R-rated title of all time domestically. Gibson’s gamble to produce and self-finance the movie clearly paid off.
After having been in the works for nearly a decade, The Resurrection of the Christ: Part One hits theaters March 26, 2027, which is Good Friday. Forty days later, Part Two will debut May 6, 2027, in honor of Ascension Day. Gibson is producing the films with Icon Production partner Bruce Davey.
The lead role in The Passion of the Christ has been a career-defining one for Caviezel. He is also known for starring on the CBS series Person of Interest and in such films as Angel Eyes and Sound of Freedom.
During an April interview on the Arroyo Grande podcast, Caviezel appeared to be ready to star in Resurrection. “I want to enjoy this one more than I did the other one,” Caviezel said in comparing the new project to the 2004 feature. “On the other one, I was concerned that it was not in Aramaic. I said, ‘We’re not doing this.’ Well, that was a different world. But I really do trust what [Gibson] adds.”
In its 2004 review of The Passion of the Christ, THR noted the film’s “near pornographic violence” and deemed it “a medieval Passion Play with much better effects.”
New York Post was first to report on the roles being recast.
