Mel Gibson sure has a passion for the past – he’s planning another violence-packed epic set in ancient times, featuring actors speaking an ancient dialect.
With subtitles.
But, unlike his 2004 blockbuster, “The Passion of the Christ,” Gibson’s new screen extravaganza, “Apocalypto,” will be neither religious nor spoken in Aramaic, Hebrew or Latin, Variety magazine reports.
It will be about the ancient Mayans, with actors speaking an obscure Mayan dialect.
This is not a Monty Python satire of “The Passion” – it really is Gibson’s latest project.
And Bravehearts need not fear – there will be plenty of lethal weapons, as well as blood galore.
So much violence has been written into the script by the silver-screen action-hero that it’s guaranteed an R rating, unless he tones it down, Variety reports.
Slated for release next summer, the film will be bankrolled and directed by Gibson.
But, as with “The Passion,” the Oscar-winning director won’t star in it – or even appear in it.
Gibson expects to begin shooting in Mexico in October with a cast of unknowns – many of them natives who very likely have been heard at one time or another greeting neighbors with bix a belex (“Hi, how are you?” in Yucatec Mayan).
Gibson is so enthusiastic about the film, according to Variety, that he dropped plans to star in “Under and Alone,” which his company, Icon, is producing for Warner Bros.
That film – about a federal ATF agent who infiltrates a violent motorcycle gang – was seen as a perfect vehicle for him. But murder and mayhem in Mexico in Mayan times won out.
No one has yet been named to replace Gibson in “Under and Alone,” which is expected to be released next year.
Gibson plans to distribute “Apocalypto” overseas himself, with Walt Disney Studios winning a bidding war to handle the domestic distribution.
Disney Chairman Dick Cook is excited about the film, telling Variety that “this is one of the most original and unique scripts we’ve had the opportunity to read recently.”
The film’s title is an ancient Greek term that means “an unveiling” or “new beginning.”