Forest Whitaker and Vince Vaughn to Lead The Archbishop and the Antichrist

Forest Whitaker and Vince Vaughn are set to star in The Archbishop and the Antichrist

Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker (Lee Daniels’ The Butler, The Last King of Scotland) and Vince Vaughn (Unfinished Business, “True Detective”) are set to star in the upcoming drama The Archbishop and the Antichrist. The film is to be directed by two time Oscar nominee writer/director Roland Joffé (The Killing Fields, The Scarlet Letter). The announcement was made today by Emmy Award nominated producer Craig Baumgarten (Hook, Never Back Down), who will work on The Archbishop and the Antichrist alongside executive producer Kim Ashton.

Based on the play The Archbishop and The Antichrist by Michael Ashton, the feature film follows a fictionalized account of Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s (Whitaker) meetings with brutal murderer Piet Blomfield (Vaughn), who seeks redemption for the atrocities he’s committed while he serves a life sentence in prison in post-apartheid South Africa.

“Forest Whitaker brings a great sense of depth and power to all his performances and he is the perfect match for Tutu’s complex character,” said Tannaz Anisi, President of 13 Films. “Vince Vaughn continues to prove his wide-ranging acting skills following his more dramatic roles in ‘Into the Wild’ and the upcoming ‘Hacksaw Ridge.’ Under the direction of Roland Joffé, their combined star power and talent is undeniable.”

The Archbishop and the Antichrist will feature a screenplay written by Joffé and Michael Ashton. Currently in pre-production, the film will begin shooting in early 2016.

Whitaker is currently filming Walt Disney Studios’ highly anticipated Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which will be released December 16, 2016. After that, he’s set to appear in Paramount Pictures’ science fiction Story of Your Life alongside Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner. Vaughn, meanwhile, is currently filming Mel Gibson’s Hacksaw Ridge, co-starring Hugo Weaving and Andrew Garfield.

13 Films is handling international rights and will introduce the project to buyers at the upcoming American Film Market. WME Global is handling North American rights.

(Photo credit: FayesVision / PNP / WENN.com)

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