Russell Crowe is set to star in a supernatural horror thriller titled The Pope’s Exorcist, which is being helmed by Julius Avery, the director of that crazy WWII monster film, Overlord.
Crowe will take on the role of real-life figure Father Gabriele Amorth, “a priest who acted as chief exorcist of the Vatican and who performed more than 100,000 exorcisms in his lifetime.” He passed away back in 2016 at the age of 91. Amorth wrote two memoirs titled An Exorcist Tells His Story, and An Exorcist: More Stories, which detailed his “experiences battling demons that had clutched people in their evil.”
This seems like it will make for a fascinating film, and a great role for Crowe to take on. Avery said in a statement: “It’s been a goal of mine to work with Russell. To collaborate with him on the amazing Pope’s Exorcist is truly a dream come true.”
The current script is written by Evan Spiliotopoulos (Snake Eyes, The Unholy) with revisions by Chuck MacLean. That in turn is based on Michael Petroni-revised original drafts by Chester Hastings and R. Dean McCreary.
Screen Gems is producing the film and they previously acquired the life rights to the chief exorcist, which also included rights to Amorth’s two internationally best-selling books. Those books are filled with detailed accounts of his exorcism exploits all over the world.
Production on the film will start in September in Ireland.
Source: THR