Jim Caviezel in Passion of the Christ and in Sound of Freedom
News Film The Passion of the Christ

Jim Caviezel’s controversial comments resurface after Passion of the Christ 2 recast

'They absolutely went after me'

Daisy Phillipson
22nd May 2026, 13:42
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Following the new look at Jesus in the Passion of the Christ sequel, old comments from former son of God star Jim Caviezel have resurfaced where he explained why he was blacklisted from Hollywood. 

Mel Gibson, who has had his fair share of controversies over the years, is returning to helm the long-gestating sequel, titled The Resurrection of the Christ, which is being split into two parts. 

Part One is due to release in May 2027, and is set to depict the three days between Jesus’s death and resurrection. 

Although many supporters of the original were hoping to see Caviezel reprise his role, the biblical movie has found its new Jesus in actor Jaakko Ohtonen.

There’s been plenty of discussion about the recasting, with some sharing an old interview clip in which Caviezel claimed he had been“blacklisted after making controversial comments.

It’s worth noting that there’s no indication this had anything to do with the decision to cast a new Jesus.

So, what exactly did Jim Caviezel do?

Jim Caviezel in Sound of Freedom
Credit: Angel Studios

A major controversy resurfaced in 2023 amid the release of the movie Sound of Freedom, in which Caviezel played former anti-trafficking activist Tim Ballard.

Although the film became a surprise box office success, it also drew criticism due to its links to conspiracy-adjacent rhetoric online, particularly from QAnon supporters.

Ballard himself later became the subject of multiple sexual misconduct allegations from several women, including accusations involving coercion and misconduct during undercover operations. Ballard has denied the allegations.

For the uninitiated, QAnon is a political conspiracy theory that rose to infamy in 2017 within forum posts from far-righters on 4chan. 

The core belief of the theory is that a group of Satanic, cannibalistic abusers are operating a child sex trafficking ring, and that this cabal conspired against Donald Trump during his presidency. 

As reported by The Washington Post, Caviezel has endorsed these ideas. In April 2021, he made an appearance at Clay Clark’s Health and Freedom Conference in Oklahoma where he spoke about his role in Sound of Freedom and the “adrenochroming of children.”

Speaking about Ballard, the actor – a devout Catholic – said, “He’s down there saving children as we speak, because they’re pulling kids out of the darkest recesses of hell right now, in … all kinds of places, uh, the adrenochroming of children.”

When asked to elaborate, he said, “If a child knows he’s going to die, his body will secrete this adrenaline. These people that do it, there’ll be no mercy for them. This is one of the best films I’ve ever done in my life. The film is on Academy Award level.”

The adrenochrome conspiracy theory is commonly linked to QAnon and revolves around the baseless belief that elites traffic and abuse children to harvest a chemical known as adrenochrome from their blood, allegedly to help them stay youthful or gain power. 

The claims have been widely debunked, but became increasingly mainstream online during the rise of QAnon-related movements in the late 2010s and early 2020s.

It’s worth noting that scientifically, adrenochrome is simply a byproduct formed when adrenaline (epinephrine) oxidises. 

It’s been known about in chemistry and medical research for decades and can be synthesised in laboratories, but it’s not harvested from children, and there’s no evidence it has anti-aging or mystical properties.

The QAnon flag
Credit: Anthony Crider/Creative Commons

Back in 2023, Caviezel appeared on the Charlie Kirk Show, where he further discussed his beliefs in the theory, claiming, “There’s a synthetic form and a natural form, which is caused by torturing little kids to get their adrenaline up and then extracting it from them.”

The actor went on to say, “I brought this up a few years ago and all of a sudden I was attacked by every media – look it up, it’s there. They absolutely went after me.”

Caviezel said the next day he was let go by his agency and his lawyers. This isn’t the first time he’s spoken about his belief that he was blacklisted by Hollywood. 

Prior to taking the role of Jesus in The Passion of the Christ in the 2000s, Gibson had warned him that he’d “never work in this town again”, but Caviezel replied: “We all have to embrace our crosses… Mel, this is what I believe.”

Why The Passion of the Christ 2 cast a new Jesus

Despite these controversies, the actual reason Jim Caviezel isn’t starring in The Resurrection of the Christ is simple: he’s too old. 

Jesus was 33 years old during these events, and Caviezel is now 57. If they kept him in, the team would’ve had to de-age the actor, and ultimately it was easier to just find a new actor to replace him. 

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Featured images credit: Newmarket Films/Angel Studios