After a big bidding war, Disney has won the rights to distribute Mel Gibson’s new film in the U.S.

Gibson’s production company, Icon, will handle distribution for the rest of the world.

?In winning the deal, Disney had to commit to stringent distribution terms for the project which Gibson will fully finance and thus have full creative control over,? reported Dark Horizons.com.

Gibson will not star in the movie. This time he plays the role of writer, director, and producer.

The film, called, ?Apocalypto? is not exactly your standard summer fare. Based on the Mayan civilization of central America, circa 1000 BC, it will use a language from 3000 years ago.

Unlike Gibson?s last blockbuster, ?Passion of the Christ,? this film will be non-religious.

?It will star a neophyte cast indigenous to the region of Mexico where Gibson will shoot come fall,? reported The Movie Insider.com.

In case you might fall asleep, perhaps a rating of R will wake you up. Reports say it will be jam-packed with your standard violence and gore, like ?Braveheart? and ?Passion? (unless you?re like me and violence and gore makes you fall asleep).

Despite Gibson seemingly trying to replicate the success of ?Passion?, there is talk ?Apocalypto? is destined to fail.

?After all, the success of ?Passion? lay largely on two elements: the support of the immense religious movement in the States, and the controversy that drew everyone else to go have a look out of curiousity?s sake. In the absence of those factors you?re going to be left with a struggle to persuade anyone but lecturers in Mezoamerican studies to attend…Frankly, we?d be surprised if an R-rated action film in Mayan breaks box office records,? the online edition of Empire said.

Time will tell if this film succeeds or bleeds (ha..ha), as the film is just in its pre-production phase and is slated to debut next summer.






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