“The Young Pope” had a successful first season as a joint venture between HBO and Sky. The drama series tells the story of a young American man, played by Jude Law, who becomes the new leader of the Catholic Church and turns the Vatican upside down. With the end of the first season, people were asking whether or not it would return. The answer arrived this week, as HBO/Sky announced “The New Pope,” a followup with a new setting and some recurring characters, but no room for Law.
In an interview with Variety, Law discussed his role on “The Young Pope” and he seems pretty okay with the decision of everyone to move on without him.
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“It wasn’t that I wrapped it up assuming that I was done with it but I went in, we went in, to make a 10-hour film, and we did that. To say that there wasn’t room for more, I’d have been foolhardy. But it was clear from the get-go that we thought this is a great character and it’s a great world that he’s created here. But yeah, I didn’t go in thinking I’ll be doing this for the next 10 years,” said Law.
Rumors persist that he may come back in a much smaller role, but nothing is sure yet, as “The New Pope” won’t even begin production until the end of 2018. However, even with Law’s departure, the new season will carry over the main creative forces behind the first season. Paolo Sorrentino is going to be back to direct the new series, as well as co-write with his frequent collaborator Umberto Contarello.
As we’re still over a year away from production, don’t expect any concrete news about plot or cast for a while, but there’s no doubt that HBO/Sky are going to put a lot of resources into “The New Pope.”