Mel Gibson Says Faith, Ego, Redemption Are Themes in 'Father Stu' Set for Release April 13

During an interview with Fox News on Friday, actor-director Mel Gibson spoke about faith, ego, and redemption, while promoting his latest film Father Stu. 

As CBN News has reported, Mark Wahlberg and Mel Gibson teamed up for the new biographical movie that's filled with grit, faith, and redemption. It's scheduled to hit theaters nationwide on Wednesday, April 13. 

Father Stu has been a project of Wahlberg's for the past six years, according to The Hollywood Reporter's exclusive story.  The actor wanted to make a movie about the boxer-turned-priest's life after he died almost seven years ago. 

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Both Wahlberg and Gibson are professed Catholics. The pair formed a friendship when Gibson was hired to play Wahlberg's father in the 2017 comedy Daddy's Home 2, according to MovieGuide.

Wahlberg will portray Long in the new movie and reportedly gained 30 pounds for the role. Gibson will play Long's father. 

During an interview with Gibson, Fox's Jesse Watters asked the actor if one of the movie's messages was about receiving God's grace in the midst of human suffering. 

Gibson answered that it is one of the central themes of the film, but he also explained that everyone has "a boulder they are carrying around." 

"Everybody's got a boulder, man," Gibson said. "And everybody's got to drag … something around. And of course, something's going to come by and knock you down at some point in your life. Now - later."

"And how do you stand up from that, you know?" he added. "How do you not only stand up but find the purpose in that? There's a purpose for all of this. So, it's looking for that purpose."

Gibson also spoke about how one's ego can be an "easier target to get hit."

"I think if we're too-self involved," the actor told Fox News. "I think if your head's too big, put it that way, it's an easier target to get hit. And if your ego's not that healthy, if you actually realize there's something greater than you and find a bit of humility, you're not going to get hit as hard. Even if you do get hit because you are going to realize that there's a purpose in it, and you're not the most important thing in the world and that there's a way to deal with that stuff and almost be grateful for it." 

Gibson said another theme of the film is that "it's never too late to fix stuff." He pointed out that as the father of nine kids, he hasn't been a perfect parent.  But he "realized on a few occasions that you can kind of go back and fix stuff you missed the first time around."

"The sooner you realize there's something bigger than all of us, the easier it's going to be in your life," the Academy Award-winning director said. "Hard jump to make for a lot of us." 

Gibson's longtime partner, writer-director Rosalind Ross, wrote the script, and the film will mark her directorial debut. Production of the movie was completed last year. 

The Passion of the Christ Sequel Is In The Works 

As CBN News has reported, Gibson is known to Christians all over the world for producing, co-writing, and directing the feature film "The Passion of the Christ" which was released in 2004 and starred Jim Caviezel. The film took in more than $612 million at the box office. It is the highest-grossing Christian film of all time.

Fans of the movie have been looking for a sequel that will focus on the resurrection of Christ. It will reportedly pick up where the other movie left off, as Jesus rises from death to life just after the Crucifixion.

Caviezel told Breitbart back in September of 2020 that the sequel is in the works. He had received a third draft of the script from Gibson. 

The film's IMDb page for The Passion of the Christ: Resurrection shows the movie is still in pre-production. 

The movie's description on the website reads: "A sequel to The Passion of the Christ (2004) focuses on the events that occurred 3 days between the crucifixion and resurrection when Jesus Christ descended to Abraham's Bosom to preach and resurrect Old Testament saints."

Gibson is producing, directing, and is also writing the screenplay for the movie with Randall Wallace. The top cast includes Caviezel (also a producer) who will again portray Jesus, Maia Morgenstern as Mary, Christo Jivkov as John, and Francesco De Vito as Peter.