‘The Pope’s Exorcist 2’ Rumored to Be in Active Development

Following the success of The Pope’s Exorcist, which was released on April 14, 2023, The Pope’s Exorcist 2 is reportedly already in the works.

The horror flick, which stars Russell Crowe as real-life exorcist Father Gabriele Amorth, has grossed over $66 million at the worldwide box office. And with its production budget only being $18 million, Sony is rumored to be pushing ahead with plans for a sequel.

News of The Pope’s Exorcist sequel was first reported by Bloody Disgusting, with the website noting that Russell Crowe is expected to return as Father Amorth. However, no additional details were included.

We have seen an update on IMDBPro, which has a listing for the “Untitled the Pope’s Exorcist sequel.” And while no cast is listed, it does list the project’s writer as Evan Spiliotopoulos, who authored the screenplay for the first film along with Michael Petroni. Doug Belgrad, Michael Patrick Kaczmarek, and Jeff Katz are also listed as producers for the flick.

Russell Crowe Calls The Pope’s Exorcist Role “Perfect”

Russell Crowe, 59, describes the role of Father Amorth as “perfect” for him. And he even admits he got a bit “caught up” in the role as the Vatican’s chief exorcist.

“I did ‘The Mummy’ with Tom Cruise nine years ago. So, I did dabble a little bit in the genre, but what caught me up, man, was the reality and the truth of this guy’s life,” Crowe confessed to ScreenRant.

“This is a real man, Father Gabriele Amorth. He had this incredible life with all these different experiences but left behind 12 books that document his first-person experience as the chief Exorcist for the Vatican,” Crowe continued. “From an actor’s perspective, to be handed a treasure chest like that was just perfect.”

Peter DeSouza-Feighoney Scared His Co-Stars With His Performance

Russell Crowe added that his 11-year-old co-star, Peter DeSouza-Feighoney, had the adults on set scared by his performance.

“I think Peter was fantastic. As a young actor, little boy, it’s his first ever job. It was interesting to watch him develop because he’s obviously very nervous and stuff to start with,” Crowe states. “Over time, the course of production, I think he began to relish the days that he had the makeup on. And he was doing the extreme stuff because of the sense of power he brought with him when he came onto the set.”

“And he was scaring all the adults. Some days you’d be just dressed as the normal kid doing the scenes prior to possession. And I would notice you’d be a bit glum. And I would say to him, ‘You okay? What’s up?’ And he’d say, ‘I just prefer being the demon.'” Crowe adds.

Additional Details on The Pope’s Exorcist 2

No additional details are available yet on The Pope’s Exorcist 2. Since the project is just now rumored to be getting underway, it’s likely impacted by the current writers’ strike. The strike will delay the finished screenplay, pushing any filming dates. But we’ll keep you posted as more details surface!