It’s the second coming of “Christ” — but the original cast won’t be resurrected.
Mel Gibson’s long-gestating sequel to “The Passion of the Christ” will start shooting in Rome, but with a completely new cast, an insider told Page Six.
Jim Caviezel won’t return as Jesus, and Monica Bellucci won’t be back as Mary Magdalene in “The Resurrection of the Christ,” we hear.
“They’re [currently] meeting with actors [in Rome],” a source familiar with the project told us.
Another source said they switched it up because “they’d [have had] to do a lot of work with the [original] actors… digital stuff, plus the scheduling.”
“There was a lot of back and forth,” they said, adding the flick has been in pre-production “for a couple of months.”
Gibson’s much-anticipated follow-up to 2004’s massive indie hit was derailed by several of the actor’s scandals in subsequent years.
Controversies, including a DUI and the surfacing of antisemitic and homophobic remarks, found the once A-lister excommunicated from Hollywood, with mainstream studios shunning him.
In 2010, power talent agency WME dropped him as a client after audio leaked of him berating ex-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva with misogynistic and racist remarks.
The now-sober “Braveheart” star got a taste of his former Hollywood glory in 2016 when he received an Oscar nomination for directing the war film “Hacksaw Ridge.”
His return to “Christ” may find him back on the nominee list.
Variety reported in August that the much-delayed movie will be split into two parts. Both are set to release in 2027.
The original made $610 million globally on a $30 million budget.
A spokesperson for Gibson did not get back to us.
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