In an effort to heal his and others’ heart wounds and reassure Jews that he’s not a bigot, Mel Gibson is set to direct a blockbuster film on Muslims after Apocalytpo hits screens, according to Hollywood bible Variety magazine.

“I’ve covered Jews with Passion, the Scottish with Braveheart, the Mayans with Apocalypto, and now I want to show the real Muslim. So we’re going to Hollywood’s primary authority in this area: Reel Bad Arabs, by Jack G Shaheen,” the Oscar-winning director said.

“Everyone knows Arab equals Muslim, so we’re planning a concentrated negative portrayal of Muslims. You see your ragheads and camel jockeys, but has anyone really put it all together? Exactly.”

Shaheen’s book considers the history of Arab-related representation on the silver screen, revealing a deep bias against Arabs and Muslims, which Gibson says isn’t given enough coverage and consideration and has led him to “embrace that representation in order to provoke dialogue and confront pejorative imagery”.

“This will be a film about films. We’re going to stereotype in order to compound the stereotype. For too long Jews have been blamed for everything. I even blamed them for all the wars. What I had meant to say was that Arabs — meaning Muslims — are responsible. My bad.”

Gibson, whose films tend to be violent and gory, is renowned for his methodical and careful approach to film-making and he said the film will have its fair share of blood and war.

Already undertaking research, he has enlisted the help of several consultants. “We went to Iraq and arranged for some of the guards who hung Saddam to come over. I think they will provide extremely valuable insight,” the actor and director confirmed.

Gibson said he wants to make it easier for people to recognise the different kinds of Muslim. “We’ll give you a runaway girl pursuing forbidden love with a US soldier, an abusive older brother, and of course, we’re going to devote a large chunk of the storyline to terrorists. At no extra charge! Ha ha. Just kidding — about the extra charge, not the terrorists. Anyway, think Braveheart meets Lethal Weapon. Lots of horses and cool clothing.”

Gibson read Shaheen’s book following his arrest last year, and was inspired by the bigotry of Hollywood film-making. He admitted he’s hoping the film will revive his ailing career which went downhill following his anti-Semitic outburst, and he intends to play one of the main characters. “I’m already practising my Arab accent. That means no letter ‘p’! I’m even getting into the costumes. I’m definitely going for the Arafat look.”

Gibson conceptualises “a colourful, sweet bouquet of bigotry”, but denies that his interpretation of Arabs in film will broaden existing fallacies. “We’re going to do some good. For example, people say Muslim women are all the same. Not so. There are different shades of oppression. There’s the really bad kind, and then there’s the oppression where the women aren’t as oppressed as the ones who cover their faces.”

Gibson is optimistic about the film’s potential and says it bodes well for his future in film-making. “Sure, I made some mistakes. But I’ve learnt my lesson about talking against the Jews. These guys control Hollywood so how bad can they be?”

Filming will begin in Los Angeles later this year.