Mel Gibson warned Satan would target ‘Resurrection of the Christ’ writers

Mel Gibson’s longtime collaborator Randall Wallace has revealed the dark spiritual warning the two-time Oscar winner gave him before he began writing the sequel to “The Passion of the Christ.”

The 76-year-old screenwriter, who previously worked with the 70-year-old director and actor in the 1995 “Braveheart”, 2002’s “We Were Soldiers” and the 2016 film “Hacksaw Ridge”, wrote the script of the movie “The Resurrection of the Christ” together with Gibson and his brother Donal Gibson.

During a recent appearance Raymond Arroyo’s podcast “Arroyo Grande” Wallace recalled how he encouraged Gibson to tell the Resurrection story after the huge success of “The Passion of the Christ.”

FIRST PHOTOS OF MEL GIBSON’S “RESURRECTION OF JESUS” MOVIE ARE PUBLISHED AFTER THE LONG-EXPECTED PASSION SEQUEL

“Mel didn’t approach me. I actually approached her,” Wallace said, describing how they began working together on “The Resurrection of Christ.”

“That doesn’t mean he hasn’t thought about the Resurrection many times over the years,” Wallace continued. “In fact, in the original ‘The Passion of the Christ,’ there was no resurrection scene in the original cut. We were getting feedback from people saying, ‘We really want to see that.'”

Wallace said Gibson ultimately decided to include the brief Resurrection scene that serves as the closing epilogue to “The Passion of the Christ.”

The sequence shows Jesus rising from the dead, emerging from the tomb, and revealing wounds on his hands before the film ends.

Randall Wallace co-wrote the sequel to the 2004 hit with Gibson and the director’s brother, Donal Gibson. (Mary Evans/Ronald Grant/Everett Collection)

Wallace said he suggested to Arroyo that he develop a feature film depicting the Resurrection while he and Gibson were on the “Hacksaw Ridge” promotional tour in 2016.

“I thought about this many times after reviewing Resurrection and being so consumed by it,” Wallace recalled. “I had nothing to do with ‘The Passion of the Christ.’ While we were promoting ‘Hacksaw Ridge,’ we were sitting there talking about our lives, and I said, ‘Look, you know, the story you really need to tell is the Resurrection.'”

Wallace went on to describe his reaction to Gibson’s suggestion, recalling that the director believed the project could invite moral warfare.

Wallace recalled Gibson warning him, “The Devil will come after you.” (Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images)

“There was a long pause and he said something extremely nice. He said: ‘If we do this, it can’t be for the money and it can’t be for revenge on people who hate us or wronged us or are unhappy with us,'” Wallace said. “And I said, ‘Amen to that.'”

“Then he said, ‘You know, Satan will come after you,'” Wallace continued.

“And I said, ‘You know, Satan doesn’t really care about Baptists.’ It’s really nice for Satan to get a hold of a Catholic. We’re a dime a dozen,” Arroyo said, laughing.

“And of course I was joking, but I was also thinking…” Wallace continued.

“What if he’s right?” Arroyo intervened.

“Uh, yeah,” Wallace admitted.

“I was thinking about that,” Arroyo said.

“We had a nice conversation about elegance,” Wallace recalled.

Wallace said he pitched a sequel to Gibson while promoting 2016’s “Hacksaw Ridge.” (Mike Marsland/Mike Marsland/WireImage via Getty Images)

Wallace told Arroyo that his conversation with Gibson was the beginning of their collaboration on “The Resurrection of Jesus.”

“I knew you were writing ‘The Passion,’ and I knew you were very heavily involved in the writing process. So I said, ‘Look, let’s be partners. I’ll write a draft, I’ll give it to you, then we’ll start tearing it up, go over it. You do your thing, I’ll do mine. We’ll work together, we’ll work separately.’ That’s how we started,” Wallace recalled.

Gibson has previously said that he, Wallace and Donal spent about six to eight years writing and developing the script for “The Resurrection of the Christ,” which will be split into two parts.

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In May, Gibson announced that production on the sequel had been completed. “The Resurrection of Christ: Part One” will be released on Ascension Day, May 6, 2027. christian holiday It marks the ascension of Jesus Christ into heaven, 40 days after Easter Sunday. “The Resurrection of Christ: Part Two” is scheduled to be released on Memorial Day weekend, May 25, 2028.

Jaakko Ohtonen plays Jesus in “The Resurrection of Christ: Part One.” (Elise Lockwood for Lionsgate)

In a press release, Gibson shared that the story was brought to screen “exactly how I imagined it.”

“I am deeply grateful to the incredibly talented cast and crew for pouring their hearts into this production. Together we have created something powerful,” Gibson said.

“This film represents a huge part of my life’s work and has demanded everything from me as a filmmaker and artist. This is so much more than a movie to me. It’s a mission I’ve had for over 20 years to tell what I believe is the most important story in human history,” he added.

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“The Passion of the Christ” premiered in February 2004 He talked about the last 12 hours The life of Jesus until the crucifixion. Its graphic violence and subject matter made it one of the most controversial films of that year.

The film became a huge hit, grossing more than $610 million worldwide on a reported budget of $30 million. Also won Academy Award It was nominated for its make-up, score and cinematography.

“The Passion of the Christ” starred Jim Caviezel as Jesus of Nazareth. (Lionsgate/Fathom Entertainment)

While speaking with Arroyo, Wallace opened up about what audiences can expect from the long-awaited sequel.

“His unique vision of the spiritual world is truly special,” Wallace said of Gibson.

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“The interesting thing is, even though it’s the definitive movie in some ways, I want to keep everything secret about what’s going to happen,” he continued. “But the final film will, in some ways, have elements that people have never seen before.”

“It’s actually going to be stuff that no one has ever seen in a lot of ways,” Wallace added. “Yet I believe it will be, in some sense, the most orthodox account. It will be the most coherent account of the general belief, awe, and mystery that Christians experience when they experience the Resurrection.”