It was already reported, by myself and Collider, that Mel Gibson was scouting locations in Malta for “Passion of the Christ: Resurrection,” and that an early 2025 shoot was being eyed.
While those plans are still very much in the works, Gibson is now confirming that he actually has two projects as possibilities for his next film: ‘Resurrection’ and ‘Lethal Weapon 5.’ Which comes first? Gibson isn’t sure, but he’s hinting at a very busy 2025.
“I don’t know, and that’s the funny thing, I mean, there’s various obstacles to getting any film up on its feet, and not just budgetary, but there’s like, there’s 1,000,001 reason why something goes and why it doesn’t,” Gibson told Comic Book. “So it’s really kind of a crapshoot at this point. You know, what goes first and which came first, whether it’s the chicken or the egg.”
As far as ‘Resurrection’ goes, it’s practically all set up and ready to go. The script has been written, locations seem close to being locked and Jim Caviezel is definitely returning to play Jesus. Some were wondering how Gibson would deal with Caviezel having aged 20 years since the first film, released in 2004. It turns out, Gibson isn’t worried, he has a plan, but he’s not saying what it is.
So it's like, you know, I have ways of dealing with that, because, you know, twenty years ago is [supposed to be] three days later. So it has its own peculiar set of problems, which I think I can solve.
As for ‘Lethal Weapon 5,’ Gibson seems to be pretty confident about it happening. Gibson has repeatedly stated that he wanted to make ‘Lethal Weapon 5’ as a way to honor the late Richard Donner, who wrote the screenplay and was originally set to direct the film prior to his death in July 2021.
Jez Butterworth (“Ford v Ferrari”, “Edge of Tomorrow”) has written the latest draft which was a refinement of Donner’s original script. Richard Wenk (“The Equalizer”, “Jack Reacher: Never Go Back”) had also, at some point, taken a crack at Donner’s draft.
Gibson, who has directed five films over a thirty-year timespan, including “Braveheart,” “Apocalypto,” and “Hacksaw Ridge,” has already shot and completed his next film, “Flight Risk,” with Mark Wahlberg, which is set for release in January 2025.
Netflix and Skydance Animation have also called it quits. The two sides announced Monday that they're ending the animated film deal struck back in 2023, framing it as a mutual decision.