Gibson Warned Screenwriter of Spiritual Battle Before Writing Resurrection Sequel

Clear Facts

• Mel Gibson warned screenwriter Randall Wallace that “Satan’s going to come after you” before they began writing “The Resurrection of the Christ”
• Gibson and Wallace spent six to eight years developing the screenplay with Gibson’s brother Donal
• The two-part sequel will be released May 6, 2027 and May 25, 2028, following up on the 2004 film that grossed over $610 million worldwide

Mel Gibson delivered a stark spiritual warning to his longtime collaborator before they embarked on writing the highly anticipated sequel to “The Passion of the Christ,” according to screenwriter Randall Wallace.

The 76-year-old Wallace, who previously worked with Gibson on “Braveheart,” “We Were Soldiers,” and “Hacksaw Ridge,” co-wrote the screenplay for “The Resurrection of the Christ” with Gibson and his brother Donal Gibson. The project represents a return to sacred storytelling for the team, more than two decades after the original film became a cultural phenomenon.

During a recent appearance on Raymond Arroyo’s podcast “Arroyo Grande,” Wallace revealed the deeply spiritual conversation that launched their collaboration on the sequel.

“Mel didn’t approach me. I approached him, actually,” Wallace explained.

Wallace proposed the Resurrection film while promoting “Hacksaw Ridge” in 2016. He recalled Gibson’s measured response to the suggestion.

“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.’ And I said, ‘Amen to that.'”

Then came Gibson’s sobering warning about the spiritual warfare they might face.

“Then he said, ‘You know, Satan’s going to come after you,'” Wallace recalled.

Wallace initially responded with humor, joking that “Satan doesn’t really care about Baptists” and that “it’s really good when Satan can get a Catholic.” But the gravity of Gibson’s warning was clear.

“We had a beautiful conversation about grace,” Wallace said of their exchange.

The original “The Passion of the Christ” nearly ended without a Resurrection scene. Gibson initially cut the film before Jesus emerged from the tomb, but audience feedback convinced him to add the brief closing sequence showing Christ rising and revealing his wounds.

Wallace had no involvement in the 2004 original but felt compelled to push for a full-length treatment of Christianity’s central miracle. His persistence paid off, leading to a years-long collaboration that Gibson describes as “a major part of my life’s work.”

The writing process stretched six to eight years as the team refined the screenplay. Wallace described their collaborative approach: “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.”

Production on the sequel wrapped in May, with Gibson announcing the story came to screen “exactly as I envisioned it.” The film will be split into two parts, with “The Resurrection of the Christ: Part One” releasing May 6, 2027, on Ascension Day, and “Part Two” following May 25, 2028, over Memorial Day weekend.

“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,” Gibson said in a press release.

Wallace teased that Gibson’s “unique vision of the spiritual realm is really special” and promised audiences will see “elements that people have never seen before.”

“In fact, in many ways, it’ll be stuff nobody’s ever seen. 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,” Wallace said.

The original “Passion of the Christ” premiered in February 2004 and became one of the most controversial and successful religious films in history. Despite graphic depictions of Christ’s final hours and fierce criticism from Hollywood elites, the film grossed over $610 million worldwide on a $30 million budget and earned three Academy Award nominations.

Gibson’s willingness to tackle sacred subject matter with unflinching honesty resonated with American audiences hungry for authentic religious storytelling. The sequel promises to deliver the same commitment to faith-based filmmaking that made the original a phenomenon.

Let us know what you think, please share your thoughts in the comments below.