Russell Crowe to lead supernatural thriller 'The Pope's Exorcist'

Los Angeles: Actor Russell Crowe is set to star in filmmaker Julius Avery's film "The Pope's Exorcist", set at Screen Gems.

According to Deadline, the supernatural thriller will feature the Academy Award winner in the role of Father Gabriele Amorth, the legendary Italian priest who performed over 100,000 exorcisms for the Vatican.

The film is based on his international bestselling memoirs "An Exorcist Tells His Story" and "An Exorcist: More Stories".

Two years after Father Amorth's death in 2016, Screen Gems acquired his life rights for the film adaptation, along with rights to his memoirs.

Evan Spiliotopoulos has penned the latest draft of the script, with revisions by Chuck MacLean.

Doug Belgrad of 2.0 Entertainment will produce the film along with Michael Patrick Kaczmarek for Jesus & Mary, Jeff Katz of Worldwide Katz and Loyola Productions' president Eddie Siebert.

Scott Strauss, Michael Bitar and Giselle Johnson will oversee the project for the production company Screen Gems.