{"id":47363,"date":"2025-10-31T12:15:33","date_gmt":"2025-10-31T16:15:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/?p=47363"},"modified":"2025-11-11T09:19:23","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T14:19:23","slug":"casting-backlash-as-the-resurrection-of-the-christ-casts-pro-choice-actress-for-role-of-mary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2025\/10\/casting-backlash-as-the-resurrection-of-the-christ-casts-pro-choice-actress-for-role-of-mary.html","title":{"rendered":"Casting Backlash as ‘The Resurrection of the Christ’ Casts Pro-Choice Actress For Role of Mary"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Left: Joe-Mabel\/commonswikimedia.org | Right: Grabowski Foto\/Shutterstock.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Mel Gibson\u2019s long-awaited The Resurrection of the Christ <\/em>is moving forward after the announcement that the sequel to Gibson\u2019s The Passion of the Christ<\/em> will recast the main roles, including the role of Jesus, which was originally played by Jim Caviezel. It is a surprising and yet not totally unexpected decision, given Passion <\/em>hit theaters over twenty years ago and the cost to de-age actors like Caviezel would have massively ballooned the budget. \u201cThey would have had to do all this CGI stuff, all this digital stuff \u2014 de-aging and all that \u2014 that would have been very costly. It made sense to recast the whole film,\u201d a source told Variety<\/em><\/a>. <\/em>Finnish actor Jaakko Ohtonen has now been cast as Jesus. The new film has also been divided into two parts.<\/p>\n

One recasting, however, has stirred up controversy. In the 2004 film, the role of Mary, the mother of Jesus, was played by Maia Morgenstern. The new film has cast Polish-Italian actress and activist Kasia Smutniak. Smutniak is an outspoken pro-abortion activist, speaking out against Poland\u2019s strict abortion restrictions. Smutniak supports Poland\u2019s Strajk Kobiet (Women\u2019s Strike) movement, which often lobbies for more access to abortion. Smutniak is active on her social media of her support of abortion, which flies in the face of Gibson\u2019s conservative, Catholic beliefs. \u201cKasia Smutniak, polish-italian actrees, was chosen to play Jesus’ Mother in Mel Gibson’s new movie Passion of the Christ. Should someone with such strong left-wing views and supporting for abortion play this role?\u201d wrote one user on X<\/a>, featuring an image of Smutniak with pro-abortion phrases scrawled on her face.<\/p>\n

Reports state that supporters of the Law and Justice party (PiS) have contacted Gibson\u2019s Icon Productions to protest Smutniak\u2019s involvement. It is not the first time Gibson\u2019s Passion<\/em> series has faced controversy. Some accused the original film of antisemitism based on its portrayal of Jesus\u2019s condemnation to death by the crowds of Jewish people. Interestingly, Monica Belluci, who played the role of Mary Magdalene in Passion<\/em> had also supported abortion rights, calling an abortion ban a \u201cmoral falsehood.\u201d Despite the backlash, Gibson\u2019s publicist claimed he was unaware of any controversy. A spokesman for Smutniak has made no comment on the issue.<\/p>\n

Filming for the movie began in early October. The first installment will be in theaters in time for Good Friday, March 26, 2027. The second part will be released 40 days later on May 6, 2027, known as Ascension Day to Catholics.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mel Gibson\u2019s long-awaited The Resurrection of the Christ is moving forward after the announcement that the sequel to Gibson\u2019s The Passion of the Christ will recast the main roles, including the role of Jesus, which was originally played by Jim Caviezel. It is a surprising and yet not totally unexpected decision, given Passion hit theaters…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":516,"featured_media":47594,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47363","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-television"],"yoast_head":"\nCasting Backlash as 'The Resurrection of the Christ' Casts Pro-Choice Actress For Role of Mary<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Mel Gibson\u2019s "The Resurrection of the Christ" begins filming with a new cast, sparking backlash over the pro-abortion views of its new Mary.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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