Just as soon as the HBO version of The Vatican has got over the many scandals and sins of The Young Pope, John Malkovich's John Paul III has joined the cast as Pope-in-waiting John Paul III in The New Pope, released by the network in January. The trailer reveals that the new sequel will have just as much scandal as the original series, with the Catholic church in crisis.
When is The New Pope out on HBO?
The premiere of The New Pope will be on Monday, January 13 on HBO, with the first episode airing incongruously after Fast Five at 9 p.m. ET. The series is a Sky, HBO and Canal+ co-production, meaning that the series will first air in the U.K. on January 12 on Sky Atlantic, who will get the first two episodes at once at 2 a.m. and 9 p.m. GMT, and on Canal+, who are screening the series for French viewers on Jan 13 at 9:05 p.m. CET.
After airing on the three channels, episodes will be available to watch online. In the U.S., the nine episodes will be streaming on HBO Go and HBO Now after each one airs on cable.
Who is in the cast of The New Pope?
The Young Pope lead Jude Law (and his notorious papal Speedo) returns for The New Pope as Pope Pius XIII, who begins the new series in a coma, causing a crisis after he wakes up and discovers his place has been take by John Malkovich's Sir John Brannox, an intellectual English cleric.
Speaking to the Guardian, Paolo Sorrentino, The Great Beauty director who directed all nine episodes of the new series, said of the two characters, "They appoint John Paul III (John Malkovich), who is quite the opposite of his predecessor. Pius was ambitious and had always wanted to become pope. John Paul III is a reluctant pope who does it despite himself. He's moderate with a natural inclination towards compromise, whereas Pius was much more hardline and conservative."
Though Diane Keaton is not expected to come back as Sister Mary, Variety reported that rocker Marilyn Manson and Basic Instinct star Sharon Stone will both appear in The New Pope. Per Deadline, Homeland's Mark Ivanir, Snatch's Henry Goodman, Counterpart's Ulrich Thomsen and Tea with Mussolini's Massimo Ghini will also be joining Malkovich in the cast.
What will happen in The New Pope?
The Sky Atlantic synopsis for the series reads: "Pius XIII is in a coma. And after an unpredictable and mysterious turn of events, the Secretary of State Voiello (Silvio Orlando) succeeds in the enterprise of having Sir John Brannox, a moderate English aristocrat, charming and sophisticated, placed on the papal throne adopting the name John Paul III.
"The new pope seems perfect, but he conceals secrets and a certain fragility. And he immediately understands that it will not be easy to replace the charismatic Pius XIII: hanging between life and death, Lenny Belardo (Law) has become a Saint and thousands of faithful are now idolizing him, fuelling the contrast between fundamentalisms. Meanwhile, the Church is under attack from several scandals that risk devastating the hierarchies irreversibly and from external threats striking the symbols of Christianity. As always, however, in the Vatican nothing is what it seems. Good and evil proceed arm in arm towards history. And to reach the showdown we must wait for the events to take their course..."
Asked by GQ how much of Lenny's comatose brain we would get a glimpse of, Sorrentino said: "We'll know everything about Pope Lenny. The two stories run in parallel. We will understand a lot about Lenny. I can't reveal too much, but I can guarantee that you will know everything that you need to know. It's a series with two lead characters—Jude Law and John Malkovich—and both of them factor in."
Asked how much of Law's Speedos, which were brought out of the papal cupboard for The New Pope trailer, feature in the new show, the director said: "As much as you need in order to appreciate his beauty."
The New Pope starts Monday, January 13 on HBO.
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