Netflix’s library of original content continues to grow, and they continue to be able to attract the big acting names to their projects. This time they’ve attracted two stars from two of HBO’s biggest shows to their service. Jonathan Pryce (Game Of Thrones) will be joining Netflix’s upcoming film The Pope as the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis.
Also coming aboard is legendary actor Anthony Hopkins, currently starring in Westworld, who is set to play Francis’ predecessor, Pope Benedict. The film will be directed by Fernando Meirelles (City Of God, Blindness) while the script will be written by Anthony McCarten (The Theory Of Everything).
The film is set to tell the story of Pope Benedict‘s election and his subsequent resignation from the papacy, which opened the door the Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the Argentinian Cardinal who became not only the first Jesuit pope, but also the first from the Americas and the first Pope from outside Europe since the 8th century.
Netflix has had success with shows focusing on charismatic figures in positions of power in their still brief existence into the world of original programming (The Crown, House Of Cards), so it’ll be interesting to see how The Pope works within the cinematic form as opposed to a long-running TV series.
Meirelles is an excellent but still quite unheralded director, so he should bring plenty of expertise to the directors chair. No further details regarding The Pope are available at this time. Netflix will likely announce a release date later down the line.
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