Forrest Whitaker and Vince Vaughn are to star in The Archbishop and the Antichrist, a feature film adaptation of the acclaimed stage play that tells the fictionalized account of Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s (Whitaker) visits with Piet Blomfield (Vaughn) – a brutal murderer seeking redemption for the crimes he committed while serving a life sentence in post apartheid South Africa.
Oscar-winning veteran filmmaker Roland Joffé (The Killing Fields) will direct the feature while also sharing the writing duties with Michael Ashton. Emmy nominated producer Craig Baumgarten will also be working on the movie alongside executive producer Kim Ashton.
Whitaker is certainly no stranger to playing characters that hail from our beloved continent of Africa, having portrayed the role of Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland – a performance that won the actor an Academy Award, a Golden Globe and a BAFTA. More recently he took on the role of police detective Ali Sokhela opposite Orlando Bloom in City of Violence aka Zulu.
Tannaz Anisi, President of 13 Films who will be handling international rights to the film had the following to say about the movie’s leads:
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
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.
Now Vaughn may be best known for his comedic work but he certainly has dabbled with more dramatic roles most recently playing the part of Frank Semyon in True Detective‘s second season, although this performance was received with less than favorable reviews.
I still think that Vaughn could be great in this movie with Whitaker. The project has all the promise to become another unique piece of cinematic history, akin to another rather brilliant South African-set story that is Stander, which if you have not seen yet I would highly recommend checking it out.
The Archbishop and the Antichrist is currently in pre-production and filming will begin in early 2016.
Last Updated: November 3, 2015
