David Lowery Secretly Shot ‘Poor Clare’ Starring Noémie Merlant This Summer in Italy

UPDATE: I was just emailed about online whispers that Isabella Rossellini and Mark Strong have joined Merlant in the cast. Their involvement has not been officially announced, so for now, both names should be treated as unconfirmed.

EARLIER: David Lowery quietly put together his next feature, “Poor Clare,” with no announcement whatsoever, and the project began shooting in Italy this month.

Noémie Merlant is attached to star in the film, according to her agency’s current filmography, which lists “Poor Clare” as a 2026 feature directed by Lowery — although I would think this one will likely be released next year, as production only wrapped very recently.

Not much is currently known about the story, with the production keeping plot details and much of the cast under wraps. Merlant, whose recent credits include “Portrait of a Lady on Fire,” “Tár,” and “Emmanuelle,” appears to be at the center of the project.

There’s a very plausible chance this could be connected to Chiara Atik’s “Poor Clare,” the stage play about St. Clare of Assisi, which follows the young Clare as she rejects her privileged life and chooses a religious path, ultimately becoming one of the founding figures of the Poor Clares. Lowery’s mysterious film shares the exact same title and is shooting in Umbria, the region where Clare lived and founded her religious community.

While there is no confirmation that Lowery’s film is an adaptation of Atik’s play, who are we kidding here? The matching title, subject matter, and Italian setting make it all too obvious.

Lowery is coming off the divisively reviewed “Mother Mary,” which has occupied the last three years of his career, largely due to reshoots, numerous delays, and the challenge of finding the film’s proper tone in the editing room.

He has spent his career straddling two worlds: intimate arthouse projects (“A Ghost Story,” “Ain’t Them Bodies Saints,” and “The Green Knight”) and big-budget Disney fare (“Pete’s Dragon” and “Peter Pan & Wendy”). “Mother Mary” firmly belongs in the former camp.