Passion of the Christ 2 set to show Jesus in Hell as Mel Gibson sequel nears production

The Passion of the Christ 2 is finally preparing to start production in 2025, with Mel Gibson’s sequel set to chronicle Jesus’ resurrection – and his brief time in Hell.

Somehow, Jim Caviezel’s Jesus has returned. More than 20 years after Gibson broke box office records with The Passion of the Christ (America’s highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time until Deadpool & Wolverine), his long-in-development follow-up is going ahead.

The original film did exactly what it said on the tin (and then some), following Jesus on his final, excruciating day before the crucifixion.

Notably, its final frames showed him awakening and walking out of his tomb, but the sequel will explore what happened between the moment his body was removed from the cross and his resurrection.

Newmarket Films

According to Italpress, Gibson has been “scouting for locations” to film The Passion of the Christ 2, which is set to begin production in Israel, Morocco, and Italy in 2025. Caviezel is also expected to return as Jesus, a role which saw him ‘blacklisted’ from Hollywood (he was also struck by lightning on the set).

As for what the film will entail, it seems like Gibson will explore Christ’s descent into Hell between his crucifixion and resurrection.

During an earlier appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, he said: “It’s more than a single event, it’s an amazing event – and to underpin that with the things around it is really the story.

“It’s not just about the event, it’s not some sort of chronological telling of just that event. That could be boring… it’s predictable in that, ‘Now we know what happens’, but what are the other things around it that happen?”

Colbert asked if there are any “bad guys”, and Gibson said: “There are… they’re in another realm.”

In 2023, the director said he’d been working on two scripts with co-writer Randall Wallace. “I have two scripts and one of them is very structured and a very strong script and kind of more what should expect and the other is like an acid trip,” he teased.

“Because you’re going into other realms and stuff. I mean you’re in Hell and you’re watching the angels fall. It’s like crazy.”

In the meantime, find out what’s going on with The Chosen Season 5, how to watch God’s Not Dead: In God We Trust, and other new movies to watch this month.