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Jim Caviezel in Talks to Play Jesus in Mel Gibson's 'Passion' Sequel

by Paul Bond

Courtesy of Photofest
Jim Caviezel in 2004's 'The Passion of the Christ'

The actor first played thirty-something-year-old Jesus 14 years ago.

Jim Caviezel is poised to reprise his role as Jesus Christ in the upcoming sequel to Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ.


ICM Partners, which represents Caviezel, confirmed on Tuesday that the actor is in negotiations with Gibson, who would presumably produce, direct or both.

The Hollywood Reporter first reported 20 months ago that a sequel was in the works, but it wasn't known until Tuesday whether Gibson was interested in again casting Caviezel as Jesus. The actor, 49, first played thirty-something-year-old Jesus 14 years ago.

In 2016, Randall Wallace, who was nominated for an Academy Award for scripting Braveheart for Gibson, was writing a first script for what is being called The Passion of the Christ: Resurrection, though it was unclear on Tuesday whether he was still involved in the project.

Wallace told THR in 2016 that his script was for "a huge and sacred subject," and five months later Gibson revealed the name of the sequel during an interview on CBS' The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.

Gibson indicated then that the film might not be released until late 2019 or early 2020, "because it's a big subject."

Long before then, Caviezel will appear in another film based on the Bible: Paul, Apostle of Christ, which Affirm Films, the faith-based label from Sony, will open March 28. The pic stars James Faulkner as Paul and Caviezel as Luke. A trailer is below.

Gibson's original Passion of the Christ was released by Newmarket Films in 2004 and earned an impressive $612 million worldwide on just a $30 million production budget. It was practically assumed Gibson would some day make a sequel, but after about a decade passed, others decided to do it without him, and several competing projects that would tell the story of the Resurrection were thrust into preproduction.

Thus far, only one meaningful production, Risen, from Sony, has come to fruition. Made with no involvement from Gibson, Risen earned $46 million worldwide on a $20 million budget.