Mel Gibson was accompanied by some very unexpected companions during an evening in Rome, Italy, on Wednesday.
The "Braveheart" star, 69, is currently in the country ahead of filming the sequel to his 2004 film The Passion of the Christ and took the opportunity to indulge in an Italian specialty.
Mel was photographed tucking into some gelato with two friars after they enjoyed dinner at the family-run restaurant Settimio All'Arancio.
The trio were pictured standing in line at a gelateria, lost in conversation before they exited the shop with small cups of the sweet treat to enjoy a nighttime stroll.
© COBRA TEAM / BACKGRIDMel appeared in a jovial mood as he was also seen smiling after being approached by some fans and obliged to several selfies.
The actor will begin production on The Resurrection of the Christ in August, according to Manuela Cacciamani, CEO of Rome's Cinecittà Studios.
"I can confirm that the next film directed by Mel Gibson, produced by Icon Productions, The Resurrection of Christ, will be shot entirely in Cinecittà starting in August and requires many theaters and stage constructions," she said in an interview with Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore.
© COBRA TEAM / BACKGRIDThe Resurrection of the Christ
The sequel follows "the fall of the angels to the death of the last apostle" and is "very ambitious", according to Mel.
"I think in order to really tell the story properly you have to really start with the fall of the angels, which means you're in another place, you're in another realm. You need to go to hell. You need to go to Sheol," he told Joe Rogan on his podcast.
© Getty Images"It's about finding the way in that's not cheesy or too obvious. I think I have ideas about how to do that and how to evoke things and emotions in people from the way you depict it and the way you shoot it.
"So I've been thinking about it for a long time," he added. "It's not going to be easy, and it's going to require a lot of planning and I'm not wholly sure I can pull it off; to tell you the truth, it's super ambitious.
"But I'll take a crack at it because that's what you've got to do, right, walk up to the plate, right?"
© FilmMagicThe Passion of the Christ sparked global conversations and caused plenty of controversy, but it remains one of the most successful independent films of all time, garnering a profit of $370 million domestically.
The film was based on the New Testament and told the story of Christ's crucifixion, and starred Jim Caviezel as Jesus. He will reprise his role in the sequel with the help of "a few techniques," such as CGI de-aging.
© Gamma-Rapho via Getty ImagesExplaining the over 20-year wait for the sequel, Mel said: "It took me about eight years to write the script for the sequel, if we can call that The Resurrection of Christ, because it's a very complex and almost impossible to understand subject.
"So that necessarily you have to underpin it with a great deal of all of salvation history and theology."
