Mel Gibson has shared new details on its long-awaited sequel, The Resurrection of the Christ, the follow-up to his smash hit The Passion of the Christ, which was one of the most commercially successful independent films ever made.

Speaking to The Christian Post, Gibson, who is a Catholic, explained his new film will move well beyond the crucifixion story in The Passion of the Christ, which hit cinemas in 2004. 

He went on to say the film will feature  "different realms" that include heaven before creation, referred to as the "firmament," alongside two distinct portrayals of the afterlife: what the 70-year-old describes as the "hell of the just" and the "hell of the damned," a traditional theological distinction between the righteous awaiting Christ and those who are condemned.

The actor and director said the expanded scope of the story comes from filling in gaps left by the synoptic Gospels; that is, the first three books of the New Testament: Matthew, Mark and Luke.  They are given that title because of their likeness, recounting many of the same events and using similar sources.

Gibson said St John's Gospel acknowledges not every detail of Jesus' life was written down and that the film aims to explore plausible possibilities around scripture without contradicting orthodox church teaching, describing this approach as enhancing rather than replacing the biblical account. He went on to say that he wanted to: "analyse those things and make suppositions about what might have been."

The Resurrection of the Christ will be out in cinemas in May 2027. Gibson has gone on record elsewhere that both films are a "mission" to him and have been a major part of his life's work.