Jude Law Circling Pontiff Role In Paolo Sorrentino’s ‘The Young Pope’ Mini

Italian media went pazzo over the weekend with rumors that Jude Law was being lined up as a fictional Italo-American pontiff in Paolo Sorrentino’s upcoming mini The Young Pope. A source confirms the British actor is in negotiations for the titular part, but says it’s early days. The Young Pope is an eight-episode series to be written by the Oscar-winning Great Beauty helmer along with Umberto Contarello and Stefano Rulli for Sky Italia. Italy’s Wildside is producing.The story follows a fictional pope who is the first Italian-American in history to hold the post, and examines his fears, conflicts, struggles, and the search for meaning and the need for love. It will take place betweeen Vatican City, the U.S. and Africa; and partially be shot at Rome’s Cinecittà. Wildside’s Lorenzo Mieli has compared the protagonist of The Young Pope to such complex TV characters as Tony Soprano, Walter White and Frank Underwood.

Sources have confirmed Italian media reports that Jude Law is in talks to play the American pope in Paolo Sorrentino's first-ever television series: The Young Pope.

The series revolves around a fictional American pope who becomes the most conservative one the Vatican has ever seen. The show is in the works at a time when Pope Francis is widely considered the most open-minded pope in recent times. The series is set in the U.S. and the Vatican.

The Young Pope is being produced by Wildside's (1992) Lorenzo Mieli and Mario Gianani in collaboration with Sky Italia. John Lyons, former Focus Features president of production, is executive producing. The English-language series is targeted for international distribution.

Wildside had no comment on the news. Sources close to the production confirmed with The Hollywood Reporter that Law is currently in negotiations, but the role is not yet confirmed. Law's rep also confirms that negotiations are still in the early phase.

Cinecitta Studios was overwhelmed with acting hopefuls over the weekend in response to a call for extras for the series. The Young Pope will be shot at Cinecitta Studios beginning in July.

British-born Law is no stranger to playing Americans and has received two Oscar nominations for previous roles as Americans in Cold Mountain and The Talented Mr. Ripley.

The British actor will play the fictional Pope Pius XIII in The Young Pope, a miniseries directed by Italian filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino.

The series — a co-production of HBO, Sky and France’s Canal Plus — was announced Sunday in Cannes, where Sorrentino’s film Youth is competing for the Palme d’Or. Filming is due to begin this summer.

Law will play Lenny Belardo, who is thrust into the role of pope and must grapple with his faith and the powerful structures of the church.

Sorrentino, who will co-write the eight-part series, said it would explore “the inner struggle between the huge responsibility of the Head of the Catholic Church and the miseries of the simple man that fate [or the Holy Spirit] chose as pontiff.”