See who's part of the new cast for &34;The Resurrection of the Christ.&34; Why Mel Gibson's Passion of the Christ followup is replacing Jim Caviezel as Jesus

See who's part of the new cast for "The Resurrection of the Christ."

Why Mel Gibson's *Passion of the Christ *follow-up is replacing Jim Caviezel as Jesus

See who's part of the new cast for "The Resurrection of the Christ."

By Raechal Shewfelt

Raechal Shewfelt

Raechal Shewfelt is a writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2024. Her work has previously appeared on Yahoo and in American *Journalism Review* and *The Shreveport Times*.

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October 15, 2025 9:09 p.m. ET

'The Passion of the Christ' director Mel Gibson and actor Jim Caviezel. Credit:

VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty; Newmarket/courtesy Everett Collection

*The Resurrection of the Christ*, Mel Gibson's follow-up to *The Passion of the Christ*, will feature an all new cast, ** has confirmed.

*Variety* was the first to report that actor Jim Caviezel, who played Jesus in the 2004 film, has been replaced by Jaakko Ohtonen, a Finnish actor.**

EW has learned Caviezel, 57, would have needed to be de-aged for the movie which is set three days after Christ's crucifixion on Good Friday, so it was easier to recast.

Jaakko Ohtonen will play Jesus in 'The Resurrection of the Christ'.

Jaakko Ohtonen/Instagram

Meanwhile, the part of Mary Magdalene, originally portrayed by Monica Bellucci, will be filled by Mariela Garriga, the Cuban actress known for costarring in both *Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One *and *Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning*.

The rest of the cast will include Kasia Smutniak as Mary; Pier Luigi Pasino as Peter; Riccardo Scamarcio as Pontius Pilot; and Rupert Everett in an unknown role.

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EW has reached out to Gibson's Icon Productions, which is behind the film. Studio partner Lionsgate declined to comment.

The *Passion of the Christ *was a blockbuster, earning $370 million in North American movie theaters and a stunning $610 million worldwide. Until 2024, the movie, which Gibson produced and financed himself for $30 million, was the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time in the U.S., and the highest-grossing independent film of all time.

Mariela Garriga portrays Mary Magdalene in 'The Passion of the Christ' follow-up.

Karwai Tang/WireImage

It was nominated for three Oscars: Best Achievement in Cinematography; Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score; and Best Achievement in Makeup.

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In August, Lionsgate announced that the long-awaited follow-up will be broken up into two movies: *The Resurrection of the Christ: Part One*, which will be released on March 26, 2027 (Good Friday), and a second part, which will arrive in theaters on May 6, 2027, Ascension Day.

Gibson described the upcoming films as "an acid trip," in a conversation on Joe Rogan's podcast.

"There's a lot required because [the script is] an acid trip. I've never read anything like it," he said. "There's some crazy stuff. In order to tell the story properly you have to start with the fall of the angels. You're in another realm. You need to go Hell. You need to go to Sheol."**

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