The Passion of the Christ is an American multi-language film series consisting of epic biblical drama movies, based on the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John as presented in the Bible. The film series is directed, co-written, and produced by Mel Gibson. The films center around Jesus Christ's life, ministry, death, and resurrection.
Gibson produced the first installment due to Hollywood's disinterest in developing it. Following the financial success of the original movie, Gibson negotiated a contract with Lionsgate to serve as both a production studio, and the distributing company for the sequels. Though the first installment was met with polarizing reception, including a mixed at best critical reception, despite the acclaim it received from its audience, it exceeded expectations by becoming a box office hit and became a financial success through its ticket sales.
Notably, The Passion of the Christ was also the highest-grossing R-rated film for two decades. Earning its status as one of the greatest Christian-themed movies of all time, it also remains the most financially successful of the genre in film history, as well as the highest-grossing independent film of all time. It received three nominations at the 77th Academy Awards in 2005, for Best Makeup, Best Cinematography, and Best Original Score.
Its sequels, the second and third installments in the film series, began principal photography in August 2025 and are currently scheduled to be released theatrically in 2027 and 2028, respectively.
Contents
Origin
Gibson stated that inspiration for the film series was partially influenced by his own personal tribulations. A decade prior to the release of The Passion of the Christ, he had a personal crisis overcoming substance abuse where he additionally struggled with suicidal thoughts, but he turned to God through prayer instead. While rereading The Holy Bible, the filmmaker explained that he had a spiritual awakening which inspired him to develop a film about his rekindled faith in the Savior.
Though a sequel project remained in development for decades, Gibson stated that after the 2025 Greater Los Angeles wildfires he felt a spiritual purification following losing his home and possessions in the fire. The filmmaker stated: "I'm going to miss some stuff. There was some valuable stuff, some personal stuff, but I feel like I'm being stripped down and prepared for something else. I feel like the Almighty is preparing me to do something big." When asked if he believed this was to prepare him to begin production on The Resurrection of the Christ, he affirmed that losing his personal items allows him to focus on what he believes is a calling from a higher power to make the film.
Films
The Passion of the Christ (2004)
The first installment of the series (originally titled The Passion and The Passion of Christ, later retitled to The Passion of the Christ) depicts the Passion of Jesus largely according to the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The film centers around the final 12 hours before Jesus Christ's death, beginning with the Agony in the Garden of Olives/Gethsemane and ending with a brief description of his resurrection.
The Passion of the Christ was released on February 25, 2004, with multiple reviews from critics. It earned $612.1 million worldwide against a $30 million budget and became the fifth highest-grossing film of 2004.
Future
After spending years in development hell, a sequel was officially in development by February 2023. The plot would focus on the three days between Jesus' death and resurrection, as well as a depiction of the events of the War in Heaven with the "origin" of Satan and his fallen angels, explore different realms including Hell, and also end with the death of Christ's Apostles. Principal photography had been scheduled to commence on April 30, 2023; but following delays Gibson began location scouting in Europe by September 2024. Later that month, the filmmaker stated that the actors reprising their roles from the first movie, would de-aged through the use of VFX. In July 2023, Caviezel stated that the current draft of the script constitutes 2-3 sequels and would be multiple movies.
In January 2025, Mel Gibson was a guest on Joe Rogan's podcast and during the lengthy interview, he announced the film as his next project and stated that its current title is The Resurrection of the Christ. Confirming that it is in pre-production, the filmmaker stated that he felt the need to spiritually prepare for the work that would be required to finish the project, while saying that principal photography would likely commence in 2026. The script was written in collaboration by Gibson, his brother Donal, and Randall Wallace over a seven-year period. Though Deadline reported that the lead role would be recast, when Rogan asked if this would be the case, Gibson stated that despite the decades that have passed Jim Caviezel would reprise the role; while acknowledging that the use of CGI and various special effects would be used to allow the actor to appear the same age.
Later that month, following the 2025 Greater Los Angeles wildfires Gibson confirmed the movie was in pre-production, expressing that he felt a spiritual purification following losing his home and possessions in the fire. The filmmaker stated that he believed the experience helped to prepare him to begin production on The Resurrection of the Christ, he affirmed that losing his personal items allows him to focus on what he believes as a calling from a higher power to make the film. It was later reported that principal photography was tentatively scheduled to commence at the end of February, or beginning of March 2025. By March, it was officially announced that production would commence during the summer of 2025. By May 2025, Lionsgate Films announced that it would serve as one of the production studios, as well as the distributing company. The company released a short teaser trailer alongside the announcement, which reveals the official logo.