Sony Screen Gems has snapped up the life rights to legendary Italian priest and exorcist Father Gabriele Amorth, with the intention of launching a new horror franchise similar to that of The Conjuring.
Amorth, who passed away in 2016, conducted tens of thousands of supposed exorcisms for the Vatican during his career, and left behind details accounts of his exploits battling demons and the devil on behalf of the Catholic Church.
As part of the deal, Sony Screen Gems gets the rights to two of Amorth’s bestselling memoirs – An Exorcist Tells His Story and An Exorcist: More Stories – along with his personal writings and case files, which former New Line and Fox exec Jeff Katz is currently using to craft a screenplay.
