The phenomenal success of Mel Gibson’s harrowing, bloody take on the crucifixion twelve years ago led many to suspect there would be a slew of similar films in its wake.
News reports at the time showed bus loads of church groups turning up at the multiplex, offering studios a new audience to target. Gibson’s follow up to The Passion of the Christ was the excellent Apocalypto, cementing his reputation as a director of considerable talent.
As The Passion of the Christ chose to focus on only the final twelve hours of Christ’s life there was always so much more to tell, and Gibson’s frequent collaborator screenwriter Randall Wallace told THR
“I always wanted to tell this story…The Passion is the beginning and there’s a lot more story to tell.” he told The Reporter, “The evangelical community considers The Passion the biggest movie ever out of Hollywood, and they kept telling us that they think a sequel will be even bigger,”
Wallace and Gibson worked most recently on the WWII drama Hacksaw Ridge, starring Andrew Garfield, and while Gibson has yet to comment Wallace’s “huge and sacred” subject may well be their next project.