Ralph Fiennes has signed on to star in Conclave, a papal-set conspiracy thriller from German director Edward Berger (Patrick Melrose, Deutschland ’83).
John Lithgow, Stanley Tucci and Isabella Rossellini will also star in the film, which House Productions and FilmNation Entertainment are producing, developed with the support of Access Entertainment.
Based on Robert Harris’ best-selling novel of the same name, Conclave is set in the secretive Vatican meeting of Catholic cardinals who gather in Rome to pick a new Pope. Fiennes plays Cardinal Lomeli, tasked with overseeing the Cardinals arriving from across the globe to join the Conclave. But as the political machinations inside the Vatican intensify, Lomeli realizes that the departed Pope had kept a secret from them that he must uncover before a new Pope has been chosen. Lithgow will play Cardinal Tremblay, Tucci will play Cardinal Bellini and Rossellini will play Sister Agnes.
Peter Straughan (Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy) will adapt Harris’ book for the screen.
FilmNation is handling international sales and will introduce the project to buyers at the Cannes film market next week. FilmNation is co-repping U.S. rights with CAA Media Finance.
Berger is repped by Casarotto Ramsay and Associates, ICM, Anonymous Content and Range Media Partners; Fiennes is repped by CAA, Dalzell and Beresford Ltd and attorney Jason Sloane; Lithgow is repped by UTA, Anonymous Content, Viewpoint and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller, Hoberman, Newman, Warren, Richman, Rush, Kaller & Gellman; Tucci is repped by CAA, Curtis Brown and Anonymous Content; and Rossellini is repped by United Talent Agency. Straughan is Casarotto Ramsay and Associates and CAA.
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