00:00And then he said, you know, Satan's going to come after you.
00:05Satan? Yep, that was the dark spiritual warning Mel Gibson gave to his longtime collaborator,
00:10Randall Wallace, before the two began writing The Resurrection of the Christ.
00:15It's going to be an epic two-part cinematic sequel to 2004's The Passion of the Christ,
00:20filming wrapped this spring in Italy.
00:22Now the Hollywood screenwriter famous for penning Braveheart is opening up about working with Gibson again.
00:27On Raymond Arroyo's podcast, Arroyo Grande, he recalled how he was the one who urged the director,
00:33way back in 2016, to tell the story of Jesus' rise from the dead.
00:38I said, look, you know, the story that you really need to tell is the resurrection.
00:44And there was this long pause.
00:46And he said something profoundly beautiful.
00:50He said, if we do this, it can't be for the money.
00:55And it can't be for, to get back at people that, you know, that have hated us or wronged us
01:02or, or, or, or been unhappy with us.
01:07And he said, you know, amen to that.
01:09That's when Gibson, a devout Catholic, warned him that if they make a sequel for the wrong reasons,
01:14the devil is going to come after him.
01:16Wallace then joked, well, you know, Satan doesn't really care about Baptists.
01:20It's really good when Satan can get a Catholic, we're a dime a dozen.
01:24Well, jokes aside, The Passion of the Christ grossed over $600 million at the box office,
01:30despite critics at the time calling out the rated R movie's graphic violence.
01:34The biblical film returns to theaters this September, ahead of next year's sequel.
01:39The Resurrection of the Christ Part 1 will be released May 6, 2027, on Ascension Day,
01:45the Christian holiday marking Jesus Christ's ascent into heaven 40 days after Easter Sunday.
01:51But that's not all.
01:52The Resurrection of the Christ Part 2 is scheduled to debut May 25, 2028, over Memorial Day weekend.
02:00In a press release, Gibson said the story was exactly as I envisioned it.
02:04I am deeply grateful to my incredibly talented cast and crew for pouring their hearts into this production.
02:10Together, we created something powerful.
02:12This film represents a major part of my life's work,
02:15and it has demanded everything of me as a filmmaker and as an artist.
02:19This is far more than a film to me.
02:21It's a mission I've carried for over 20 years,
02:24to tell what I believe is the most important story in human history.
02:27And after the box office success of The Odyssey,
02:30it looks like moviegoers will likely line up for another epic film set in ancient times.
02:36So bring on the swords and sandals.
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