Only 11 days after debuting in theatres, Screen Gems announced April 25th that a sequel to The Pope’s Exorcist was in early development.
Telling the story of Father Gabriele Amorth, The Pope’s Exorcist follows Russell Crowe as he commits to the exorcism of a child. Along the way he uncovers the Vatican’s dark secrets they wish to keep buried.
Based on Amorth’s multiple books about his experiences as an exorcist for the Vatican, the film proports to document one of Amorth’s most trying cases.
The Pope’s Exorcist received mixed reviews from critics and opened to second place on April 14th. Despite taking in a rather scant $9.2 million that weekend, the film has held well over the following weeks, becoming somewhat of a sleeper hit. Currently sitting at a $65 million worldwide gross, it is understandable why Screen Gems are eager to strike while the iron is hot with a sequel.
All that is currently known about the project is that star Russell Crowe is expected to reprise his role as Gabriele Amorth. Given that Amorth wrote six books and purported to have performed anywhere from 60,000 to 300,000 exorcisms, there is certainly plenty more material for the filmmakers to traverse should the sequel emerge.
