Conclave: The Biggest Changes Between Movie Starring Ralph Fiennes and Stanley Tucci and the Book

Mar. 15, 2025

Ralph Fiennes and Stanley Tucci in ‘Conclave.'.Photo:Courtesy of Focus Features

Courtesy of Focus Features

Note: this post contains spoilers for the book and filmConclave.

Conclave, director Edward Berger’s gripping drama about the cutthroat cardinals electing a new pope, is a largely faithful adaptation of Robert Harris’s 2016novel of the same name.

Indeed, the vote depicted inConclaveis a highly choreographed affair involving pageantry, secret ballots — and plenty of backstabbing. Some of the men are so determined to become pope, they’re willing to ruin their colleagues’ reputations to get there.

The movie, which is already getting Oscar buzz, starsRalph Fiennes,Stanley Tucci,John Lithgow,Isabella Rosselliniand a large ensemble of actors.

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Below, PEOPLE breaks down the biggest differences between the book and film.

Key details about the protagonist have changed

In the film, Fiennes, 61, plays the British Cardinal Thomas Lawrence, the dean of the College of Cardinals and a confidant of the late pope. He is tasked with overseeing the election of the next pontiff.

Ralph Fiennes in ‘Conclave.'.Courtesy of Focus Features

Harris’s novel, however, features an Italian main character: Cardinal Jacopo Lomeli, who is 75 years old and described as being a bit frailer than Fiennes’ more energetic depiction. When Lomeli stands after kneeling at the dead pope’s beside, he rises “on knees that creaked after seven decades of constant genuflection,” Harris writes.

Cardinal Bellini is now American

Tucci’s self-doubting Cardinal Aldo Bellini hails from Italy in the novel. But he’s from the United States in the film version ofConclave. In both the book and the movie, Bellini and the dean are friends and allies.

The cardinals’ quarters get an upgrade

When the cardinals assemble in Italy to elect the new pope, they must all bunk together at the Casa Santa Marta, a building described in the novel as “a grey stone rectangle lying on its side,” which reminds Lomei of “a Soviet apartment building.” Inside, the accommodations are basic. Each man is assigned a room with “plain white walls, a parquet floor and an iron bedstead.”

John Lithgow in ‘Conclave.'.Philippe Antonello/Focus Features

Philippe Antonello/Focus Features

On screen though, the rooms appear much grander, with marble walls and more comfortable-looking accommodations. (Hey, that’s the magic of Hollywood.)

A pivotal character gets a new biography

In the book, Benítez hails from the Philippines and served as Archbishop of Baghdad. The film changes Benítez’s country of origin to Mexico and alters his most recent post from Baghdad to Kabul, Afghanistan. Newcomer Carlos Diehz plays Benítez.

Sister Agnes amps up the drama

Isabella Rossellini in ‘Conclave.'.Courtesy of Focus Features

Conclaveis now playing in theaters nationwide.

source: people.com