Mary’s casting in Mel Gibson’s The Resurrection of the Christ is fueling intense backlash on-line. Although Maia Morgenstern performed Mary, the mom of Jesus, in The Ardour of the Christ (2004), Kasia Smutniak has been recast within the function for the upcoming sequel The Resurrection of the Christ.
Nevertheless, per Selection, Kasia Smutniak’s casting as Mary in The Resurrection of the Christ has stirred controversy amongst far-right Catholic teams in her residence nation, Poland, who’ve criticized the selection as a consequence of her status as a pro-abortion activist. In response to Polish media, backers of the conservative pro-life Regulation and Justice occasion have despatched letters to Mel Gibson’s manufacturing firm, Icon Productions, objecting to Smutniak’s casting.
The letters level to her involvement with the Strajk Kobiet (Ladies’s Strike) motion, recognizable by its crimson lightning bolt suffragette brand, which has led nationwide protests towards Poland’s restrictive abortion legal guidelines. When contacted by Selection, Gibson’s publicist, Alan Nierob, mentioned he was unaware of any such protest. Smutniak’s agent declined to remark.
Some Polish critics of Smutniak’s casting have even taken to X to rally backing from conservative U.S. figures akin to Candace Owens, as seen within the submit under by @Ulalala79616:
Born in Poland, Smutniak now resides in Italy, the place she has appeared in over 40 movies and tv reveals, together with the Sky sequence Devils and Domina. She made her directorial debut with the 2023 documentary Partitions, which serves as a journey diary by her native Poland, criticizing the government-built barrier within the so-called crimson zone of japanese Poland meant to dam migrant crossings.
The Resurrection of the Christ began filming in early October 2025 with its ensemble totally recast, together with Finnish actor Jaakko Ohtonen (The Final Kingdom) taking on the function of Jesus from Jim Caviezel, Cuban actress Mariela Garriga taking part in Mary Magdalene (beforehand portrayed by Monica Bellucci), and Smutniak stepping in for Maia Morgenstern as Mary.
Caviezel, the star of The Ardour of the Christ, is an outspoken Catholic who opposes abortion, whereas Bellucci has publicly defended ladies’s proper to decide on, calling abortion bans a “ethical falsehood.” Thus, Gibson’s determination to solid an actress with pro-abortion views just isn’t unprecedented, regardless that he himself is a conservative determine recognized for opposing each contraception and abortion.
The Resurrection of the Christ: Half One is at present scheduled for launch on March 26, 2027, adopted by Half Two on Could 6, 2027.