Films based on religion have fared quite well recently, especially if they pack a little controversy behind them. To date The Da Vinci Code has amassed $177+ million, while Mel Gibson’s Passion of the Christ pulled in $370+ million back in 2004. With New Line’s upcoming Nativity project they hope to take a piece of the religious pie and now Screen Gems is baking up their own recipe.
The Hollywood Reporter lets us in on the fact that Screen Gems is set to pick up where Gibson’s Passion left off as they are angling the feature film tentatively titled The Resurrection for an Easter 2007 release. The pic is said to use the Bible as its source material and will tell the story of Jesus Christ beginning the day he died on the cross and ending about 40 days later with his ascension into heaven.
Sources close to the studio report that veteran screenwriter, Lionel Chetwynd, is penning the script.
