Entertainment

Jude Law Shakes Up The Church In ‘The Young Pope’ Trailer

Coming this January to HBO

by daniel barna

We can just see the pitch meeting now: "How about this? Jude Law as the first American Pope. Oh, and we're going to call him Lenny." And with that, The Young Pope was born, a new series about exactly that, set to premiere on HBO early next year.

In the new trailer, we meet Law's Pius XIII (formerly Lenny) on the first day of the job. And, while running the Catholic church might give the average person jitters, Law looks totally in command as the Supreme Pontiff. "From this day forward, we need to go back to being prohibited, inaccessible, and mysterious," he tells his worshippers. "I don't want any more part-time believer, and sins will no longer be forgiven at will." Clearly, the Young Pope is not messing around.

The series—whose 10 episodes were directed by the acclaimed Italian auteur Paolo Sorrentino (The Great BeautyYouth)—already premiered on the U.K.'s Sky Atlantic to stellar reviews. Diane Keaton stars as a mysterious looking nun named Sister Mary, who may or may not have ties to the Pope's murky past. A Pope with a murky past, you say? Well, as is made perfectly clear in the trailer above, Jude Law is not your average Pope. 

The Young Pope premieres January 15 on HBO.