Mel Gibson appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and chatted, among other things, about the highly anticipated sequel to Gibson’s smash hit “The Passion of the Christ” which was released in 2004.
Gibson has been speaking with media about his upcoming film “Hacksaw Ridge” which is his first feature he has directed since Apocalypto back in 2006. It’s about a pacifist who became the first conscientious objector to be awarded the Medal of Honor. After a showing at the Venice Film Festival, it received a 10 minute standing ovation.
In recent weeks, Gibson had been dropping hints about a possible sequel to Passion of the Christ, before finally confirming it was indeed happening. And now, the famed director announced the title: Resurrection.
Colbert (respectfully) queried Gibson on how he planned to make the film entertaining, saying the three day period between death and resurrection was a “waiting period” of sorts and perhaps not ideal for the big screen. Gibson replied:
“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, to enlighten what that means. It’s not just about the event; it’s not just some chronological telling of that event. That could be boring, and you think, ‘Oh, we read that.’ But what are the other things around it that happened?”
Gibson likely is alluding to the fact that the disciples were devastated after Jesus was sacrificed on the cross. They didn’t understand what was coming – even though Jesus tried to prepare them for it. They believed he was going to simply rise up and defeat their enemies and Jesus would rule forever.
They had the overall idea right – Jesus was going to reign forever – but they were shocked and confused when Jesus died. So it’s not like everyone was happily waiting for Jesus to rise again, celebrating the coming resurrection. Quite the opposite – the disciples were confused, sad, and afraid. They were next on the empire’s hit list.
There is plenty of drama to dive into here – so it is unlikely that ‘knowing the ending’ and ‘boring waiting period’ will have any effect on this being an incredible film.
What’s even more exciting, however, is it appears that Gibson is setting himself up for yet another sequel – the early church. The book of Acts details the early spread of the Gospel message, and it’s filled with violence, persecution and triumph against the odds.
Sounds like the making of a vintage Mel Gibson classic.