The Two Popes new trailer: Anthony Hopkins, Jonathan Pryce are both funny and philosophical in Netflix film

Ahead of the arrival of the film on Netflix next month, the streaming service has released a new trailer for the upcoming drama The Two Popes.

Described as the story of one of the “most dramatic transitions of power in the last 2,000 years,” the trailer follows the traditional Pope Benedict XVI (Anthony Hopkins) as he prepares to hand over the papacy to his successor, the reformist, progressive Cardinal Bergoglio (Jonathan Pryce).

Jonathan Pryce and Anthony Hopkins in a still from The Two Popes. Twitter

The trailer reveals a scandal broke out in the Vatican City. A few confidential church documents about corruption have been leaked to the press, and the faiths are shaken. The trailer delves into the lives of the two most powerful men in the Church. They talk about morality, sin, guilt, fear, and what it means to be the Pope, between watching soccer matches, indulging in pizza, and herb identification; as the Pope tells Bergoglio, “Being Pope, you must remember that you are not God. You are only human.”

Check out the trailer here

The Two Popes has been making the rounds of the festival circuit, winning awards (including the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature, Hamptons Film Festival). Directed by Fernando Meirelles, and written by three-time Oscar nominee Anthony McCarten (The Theory of Everything, Darkest Hour), the film is based on the real events surrounding the most recent transfer of papal power in the Catholic Church.

In an interview to Firstpost, Meirelles opened up on humanising the typically stoic religious figures and adding humour and banter to the characters. He says, "I was more interested in the Pope's politics. In the highly divisive times of today, when nationalism comes at the cost of neglecting all other parts of the world except your nation, Pope Francis still believes the world was one unit. It was very reassuring for me because I also believe the same."

The Two Popes is set to stream on Netflix on 20 December.

(Also read: The Two Popes review round-up: Netflix film belongs to gifted lead actors who inject warmth into the proceedings)