Hollywood star Mel Gibson mingled with a group of nuns in Rome as he took some time out from filming his upcoming movie sequel Resurrection Of The Christ after fan controversy
Mel Gibson is working on his new movie project in Rome
Mel Gibson was seen meeting with a local group of nuns in Rome as he took some time out from filming his latest project.
The Hollywood star was seen socializing in the Italian city, where he is shooting his upcoming movie Resurrection Of The Christ. The controversial film has recently caused outrage as it moved forward with a new cast.
The follow up to Mel’s 2004 movie The Passion of the Christ is underway over 21 years on from the release of the original film. The original movie followed the story of the last 12 hours of Jesus Christ’s life.
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The Passion of the Christ starred Jim Caviezel, 57, as Christ, and Monica Bellucci, 61, as Mary Magdalene. However, due to the length of time between the two movies, the roles have now had to be recast.
A source told Variety, “It made sense to recast the whole film. They would have had to do all this CGI stuff, all this digital stuff – de-ageing and all that – that would have been very costly.”
Mel Gibson was seen chatting to nuns in Rome(Image: COBRA TEAM / BACKGRID)
Finnish actor Jaakko Ohtonen, 36, stars as Christ in The Resurrection of the Christ, which takes three days after Christ’s crucifixion on Good Friday. Cuban actress Mariela Garriga, 36, takes on the role of Mary Magdalene.
Jaakko is known for his role as Wolland in The Last Kingdom, which is set during the Viking invasions of 9th and 10th-century England. Mariela meanwhile played Marie in the Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning films, starring opposite Tom Cruise.
Fans who were not happy at the decision to recast the roles took to X to air their disappointment. One shared, “Recasting Jesus is blasphemous work.”
The actor is in the Italian city filming(Image: COBRA TEAM / BACKGRID)
A second said, “Caveziel must be devastated. He’s been talking about this film since 2012.” A third commented, “I thought they were gonna use Jim And use CGI to make him look younger.”
A fourth social media user shared, “Should’ve kept Jim Caviezel. Wonder why he left the film. Maybe script was too intense for him? Or too demanding? Idk, but Caviezel returning would made the film more powerful since you would’ve followed him from the first film.”
A fifth quipped, “They couldn’t cast someone who at least kinda looks like Jim Caviezel?” However, not everyone was angry as some fans understood the decision.
Mel is currently filming the sequel to The Passion of the Christ(Image: COBRA TEAM / BACKGRID)
One shared, “Now, it makes sense why the entire cast was replaced. De-aging is not only expensive. It’s also a complicated process. Gibson is a great director. He can still deliver a solid film with any actor.”
Another fan wrote, “Love it! Recasting is better than ‘de-aging.” Resurrection Of The Christ is expected to be released in March 2027 with Hollywood star Rupert Everett also appearing in the movie.
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