Edward Berger’s “All Quiet on the Western Front” was well-liked by the Academy, it garnered nine Oscar nominations and won four trophies, including Best International Film, this past March. Berger has now set up his next film at Focus.
It will be an adaptation of “Conclave,” about the papal conclave that elects Popes for the Catholic Church. Focus Features announced that they’ve acquired the U.S. distribution rights to the film. Per the official synopsis:
Conclave” follows the secretive process of promoting a new Pope, led by Cardinal Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) in the Vatican. However, Lawrence finds himself at the center of a conspiracy as the other cardinals forge factions and rivalries to serve their own ambitions. As ambitions, divisions, and scandals start to boil over and the political machinations inside the Vatican intensify, Lawrence realizes that the departed Pope had kept a secret from them that he must uncover before a new Pope is chosen.
The cast includes Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, and Isabella Rossellini. Berger directs from a script written by Peter Straughan as an adaptation of Robert Harris’ bestselling novel of the same name.
Production on the film began in February of 2023 at Rome’s Cinecittà and wrapped in March of this year. So, in all likelihood, the film is already in the can. Now the question remains as to exactly when in 2024 “Conclave” will be released.