Passion of the Christ 2 new Jesus star announced by Mel Gibson | Films | Entertainment

It’s been over 20 years since The Passion of the Christ stormed the box office.

Original Jesus star Jim Caviezel had been gearing up to reprise the role in Mel Gibson’s long-awaited sequel, but has now been dropped.

According to insiders, it would have been too costly to digitally de-age the 57-year-old for Passion of the Christ 2 and 3, which are titled The Resurrection of the Christ Part 1 and 2.

Now Gibson has cast 36-year-old Finnish actor Jaakko Ohtonen (The Last Kingdom) as Jesus instead.

He’ll be joined by Cuban actress Mariela Garriga (Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning), replacing Monica Bellucci’s Mary Magdalene.