Mel Gibson has discussed the enduring impact of his 2004 film "The Passion of the Christ" in a new interview with Fox News contributor Raymond Arroyo, timed to the film's cinema re-release and his upcoming sequel about the resurrection of Jesus. Gibson said he set out to depict the crucifixion with unflinching realism rather than the "sanitised" versions seen in earlier films, and reflected on the controversy the project faced before release, including fears it might incite violence or antisemitism, which he says never materialised.

Instead, Gibson said he heard numerous accounts of viewers converting to Christianity or confessing to crimes, including bank robberies and a murder, after watching the film. "The Passion of the Christ", starring Jim Caviezel and shot largely in Aramaic, Hebrew and Latin, grossed more than $610 million worldwide and helped establish a commercial audience for faith-based cinema. It returns to US theatres from 10 to 17 September, ahead of Gibson's two-part sequel, "The Resurrection of the Christ", with Part One due in May 2027 and Part Two in May 2028; Gibson said the resurrection required a bigger cinematic scale than the original film's final-hours focus.