Jim Caviezel said he was not cast to reprise Jesus in Mel Gibson’s upcoming The Resurrection of the Christ films, even after reading both scripts. He said he wanted to do it, but the role has moved on without him.
Jim Caviezel and the role
Caviezel said, “Well, honestly, I read the first and the second script.” He added, “But did I want to do it? Of course I did,” then made clear the part no longer belongs to him.
He framed the Jesus role in the new films as smaller than the one he played in The Passion of the Christ in 2004, saying, “And Jesus really is not—he really didn’t need me. It’s a smaller role.” That leaves the follow-up films with a different Jesus and a different starting point for audiences who had linked the character to Caviezel for nearly two decades.
Mel Gibson and two decades
Caviezel’s return was the assumption for a long stretch because he portrayed Jesus Christ in Mel Gibson’s 2004 film The Passion of the Christ. He answered that expectation bluntly: “Good luck to the new guy, cuz it’ll be really hard.”
He went further on the comparison, saying, “As I said earlier, it’s a hell of a lot harder to play Jesus than Superman.” He also said, “What we did on that movie, they can’t touch it,” and added, “People are going to keep coming back and finding God.”
Raymond Arroyo and next projects
In the same interview with Raymond Arroyo, Caviezel said, “Nothing. When I’m dead and gone, that’s an annuity.” He followed that with, “And I did my job and I did it well,” a line that sounds less like nostalgia than finality.
He also said, “No, I couldn’t have done it. I couldn’t have done these films,” while still acknowledging, “But did I want to do it? Of course I did.” That is the useful takeaway for viewers: the new films are proceeding, but not with the actor most associated with the earlier one, and Caviezel is already moving on to Ghost Soldier and Angel Studio’s Zero A.D. in the final two months of the year.
