Mel Gibson's longtime collaborator Randall Wallace revealed the dark spiritual warning that the two-time Oscar winner gave him before they began writing the sequel to "The Passion of the Christ."
The 76-year-old screenwriter, who previously teamed up with the 70-year-old director and actor for 1995's "Braveheart," 2002's "We Were Soldiers" and 2016's "Hacksaw Ridge," co-wrote the screenplay for "The Resurrection of the Christ" with Gibson and his brother Donal Gibson.
During a recent appearance on Raymond Arroyo's podcast "Arroyo Grande," Wallace recalled how he urged Gibson to tell the Resurrection story following the massive success of "The Passion of the Christ."
MEL GIBSON'S 'RESURRECTION OF THE CHRIST' REVEALS FIRST PHOTOS AFTER LONG-AWAITED PASSION SEQUEL
"Mel didn't approach me. I approached him, actually," Wallace said of how they began working together on "The Resurrection of the Christ."
"This is not to say that over the years, he hadn't thought many times about the Resurrection," Wallace continued. "In fact, in the original ‘The Passion of the Christ,’ the original cut didn't have the resurrection scene. He was getting feedback from people saying, 'We really want to see that.'"
Wallace said Gibson ultimately decided to add the brief Resurrection scene that serves as "The Passion of the Christ's" closing epilogue.
In the sequence, Jesus is seen rising, leaving the tomb, and revealing the wounds in his hands before the movie ends.
Wallace told Arroyo that he proposed developing a feature-length film depicting the Resurrection while he and Gibson were on a promotional tour for "Hacksaw Ridge" in 2016.
"Having studied the Resurrection and being so consumed by it, I thought about it many times," Wallace recalled. "I didn't have anything to do with ‘The Passion of the Christ.’ When we were promoting ‘Hacksaw Ridge,’ we were sitting there talking about our lives, and I said, ‘Look, you know, the story that you really need to tell is the Resurrection.’"
Wallace went on to recount Gibson's reaction to his suggestion, remembering that the director believed the project could invite spiritual warfare.
"There was this long pause, and he said something profoundly beautiful. He said, 'If we do this, it can't be for the money, and it can't be to get back at people that have hated us or wronged us or been unhappy with us,'" Wallace recalled. "And I said, ‘Amen to that.’"
"Then he said, 'You know, Satan's going to come after you,'" Wallace continued.
"I said, 'Well, you know, Satan doesn't really care about Baptists.' It's really good when Satan can get a Catholic. We're a dime a dozen," he said as Arroyo laughed.
"And of course, I was being facetious, but I was also thinking…" Wallace continued.
"What if he's right?" Arroyo interjected.
"Well, yeah," Wallace admitted.
"That's what I would be thinking," Arroyo said.
"We had a beautiful conversation about grace," Wallace recalled.
Wallace told Arroyo that conversation with Gibson marked the beginning of their collaboration on "The Resurrection of the Christ."
"I knew he had written ‘The Passion,’ was very much deeply involved in the writing of it. And I said, 'Look, let's partner up. I'll write a draft, give it to you, then we'll start tearing it up, go through it. You do your thing, I'll do mine. We'll work together, we'll work apart.' So we started that way," Wallace remembered.
Gibson has previously said he, Wallace and Donal spent roughly six to eight years writing and refining the screenplay for "The Resurrection of the Christ," which will be split into two parts.
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In May, Gibson announced that production on the sequel had been completed. "The Resurrection of the Christ: Part One" will be released May 6, 2027, on Ascension Day, the Christian holiday marking Jesus Christ’s ascent into heaven 40 days after Easter Sunday. "The Resurrection of the Christ: Part Two" is scheduled to debut May 25, 2028, over Memorial Day weekend.
In a press release, Gibson shared that the story was brought to the screen "exactly as I envisioned it."
"I’m deeply grateful to my incredibly talented cast and crew for pouring their hearts into this production. Together, we created something powerful," Gibson said.
"This film represents a major part of my life’s work, and it has demanded everything of me as a filmmaker and as an artist. This is far more than a film to me. It’s a mission I’ve carried for over 20 years to tell what I believe is the most important story in human history," he added.
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"The Passion of the Christ," which premiered in February 2004, depicted the final 12 hours of Jesus’ life leading up to the crucifixion. Its graphic violence and subject matter made it one of that year's most controversial movies.
The film was a smash hit, grossing more than $610 million worldwide on a reported $30 million budget. It also earned Academy Award nominations for its makeup, score and cinematography.
While speaking with Arroyo, Wallace teased what audiences can expect from the long-awaited sequel.
"His unique vision of the spiritual realm is really special," Wallace said of Gibson.
"The interesting thing is that, while in some ways — the ultimate movie — I want to keep it all secret about what's going to happen," he continued. "But the ultimate movie, in some ways, will have elements that people have never seen before."
"In fact, in many ways, it'll be stuff nobody's ever seen," Wallace added. "And yet I believe it'll be, in a certain way, the most orthodox telling. It'll be the most consistent telling of the overall belief, the awe and the mystery that Christians experience when they experience the Resurrection."
