Ragesh Dipu
HBO in a cryptic tweet announced today that actress Sharon Stone and rocker Marilyn Manson are going to be part of Paolo Sorrentino’s ‘The New Pope.’ “Holy Father! Sharon Stone and Marilyn Manson will guest star in #TheNewPope, coming soon,” reads the tweet. According to Variety, the photos of Manson and Stone hint at a possible character addition to the cast. But no details of their roles have been revealed yet. Both Manson and Stone are collaborating with Sorrentino for the first time.
The long-awaited ‘The New Pope’ is Sorrentino’s follow-up to his previous series ‘The Young Pope.’ Manson and Stone are reportedly big fans of both ‘The Young Pope’ and Sorrentino. HBO has released the official first look pictures John Malkovich and Jude Law from ‘The New Pope’ in January. The image showed Jude Law’s Pius XIII standing alongside his successor, played by John Malkovich.
HBO didn’t divulge any more details other than there would be two Popes in the upcoming series, one is Jude Law and the other one is Malkovich. The broadcaster also added the cryptic line from teaser along with the image, “I just confessed four sins looking at this photo.”
‘The New Pope,’ is produced by Italy’s Wildside for Sky, HBO, and Canal Plus. The series follows an anthology format like that of ‘Fargo.’ It changes cast members in the second season but carries over some characters and plot elements. According to Variety, the returning cast members ‘The New Pope’ include Cecile de France, who plays the Vatican marketing executive Sofia and Ludivine Sagnier who portrays the wife of a Swiss Guard and a dedicated papal fan. Silvio Orlando also reprises his role as the cunning Cardinal Voiello.
‘The Young Pope,’ is created by Sorrentino after his critically acclaimed movie ‘The Great Beauty,’ which earned him the foreign-language Oscar in 2014. The plot of ‘The Young Pope’ centres on the early days of the first American Pope, Lenny Belardo, aka Pope Pius XIII. Lenny arrives as a typical unconventional American youth into the melting pot of internal politics and shadowy power players. They not only manipulate the system but also distance the devotees with their hardline Catholic approach.
The series premiered on Sky in October 2016 and then on HBO in January 2017. Law earned a Golden Globe nomination for his portrayal of the Young Pope. The series received two nominations at the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards, making it the first Italian TV series to get a Primetime Emmy nomination. The successful papal drama has been aired in 150 territories so far.
‘The New Pope’ is expected to premiere in 2019 on Sky Atlantic in Italy.
Cover Image Credit: Gianni Fiorito, Courtesy: HBO
