Paolo Sorrentino’s “The Young Pope” was a surprise hit for HBO when it premiered in early 2017. The, uh, interesting take on the Catholic Church featured actor Jude Law becoming the new leader, with his unlikely and non-traditional ways of running things. The series was critically acclaimed, with Law earning a Golden Globe nomination for his performance. However, it wasn’t supposed to continue on. Alas, it has, and now the world is about to be introduced to “The New Pope.”
As seen in the new teaser for the sequel series, which once again sees Law return as Lenny Belardo, aka Pope Pius XIII, “The New Pope” isn’t about to change what made the first series work so well. While the teaser doesn’t actually give you much to chew on, as far as plot goes, the juxtaposition of Law’s Pope and new cast member John Malkovich is startling, to say the least.
The teaser features a scantily clad Law emerging from the water at a pristine beach, flanked by beautiful women (one of which might allude to a certain Catholic figure). On the other hand, you have Malkovich, a much more traditional leader, with cardinals walking beside him as he traverses the Vatican. It’s clear that they’re setting up a confrontation between the two ideologies.
The sequel series stars Law and Malkovich, alongside Silvio Orlando, Javier Cámara, Cécile de France, Ludivine Sagnier, Maurizio Lombardi, Henry Goodman, Ulrich Thomsen, Mark Ivanir, Yuliya Snigir and Massimo Ghini, Sharon Stone, and Marilyn Manson. As with “The Young Pope,” the new limited series is directed by Paolo Sorrentino, with the scripts written by the filmmaker, along with Umberto Contarello and Stefano Bises.
“The New Pope” arrives on HBO later this year and will premiere at the Venice Film Festival on September 1.