According to a new report by a veteran Hollywood reporter, the sequel to Mel Gibson’s blockbuster film “The Passion of the Christ” will start filming in January 2024. Jordan Ruimy of the popular entertainment website World of Reel reported that “The Passion of the Christ: Resurrection” would focus on the events between Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection.

Ruimy is the journalist who reported last year that the production on the film was imminent. He wrote, “Back in January, I had heard that Gibson was finally, very close, to shooting “The Passion of the Christ: Resurrection,” a mid-year shoot had been planned. Now, we’re looking at January. The production date seems set in stone.” Gibson directed the 2004 film, which grossed $611 million worldwide and received three Oscar nominations.

Ruimy reported, “Gibson has been hard at work on the screenplay with “Braveheart” screenwriter Randall Wallace. There have already been six drafts. Gibson has been shooting “Flight Risk” starring Mark Wahlberg in Las Vegas. The last movie Gibson directed was 2016’s “Hacksaw Ridge,” which garnered six Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor.”

One caveat is the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike, which shows no signs of stopping soon. Gibson recently commented on the movie. He said, “It is such a massive undertaking that you can’t do it lightly, and you can’t do it quickly. You have to really consider what it is that you need to show in order to be poignant,” adding that the film wouldn’t be linear.

He continued, “You have to have many things to juxtapose against one another, even from different time periods, in order to illustrate what something means in a more full way. It’s going to be a real jigsaw puzzle to do.” Gibson implied that one of the scripts he examined had scenes in hell and showed the angels falling from heaven. Actor Jim Caviezel, he said, will portray Jesus, as he did in the 2004 film.