Russell Crowe to play real-life priest in ‘The Pope’s Exorcist’
The Pope’s Exorcist.Directed by Julius Avery (Overlord), the film will star Crowe as real-life figure Father Gabriele Amorth, a priest who acted as chief exorcist of the Vatican and performed more than 100,000 exorcisms in his lifetime.Amorth, who passed away in 2016 at the age of 91, detailed his experiences of battling demons in two memoirs titled An Exorcist Tells His Story and An Exorcist: More Stories.“It’s been a goal of mine to work with Russell,” Avery said in a statement (via The Hollywood Reporter). “To collaborate with him on the amazing Pope’s Exorcist is truly a dream come true.”Production is scheduled to start in Ireland in September.Avery’s next film is Samaritan, a superhero film based on the Mythos Comics graphic novels by Bragi F.