'Conclave' Prime release mirrors Vatican events following Pope Francis death

They say art imitates life and sometimes streaming schedules do too

As the world mourns the death of Pope Francis, Conclave just landed on Prime Video Tuesday, dropping amid real-world events unfolding in Rome

While Catholics wait to see who will be elected the next pope, with some even placing bets online, the Oscar-winning thriller takes viewers inside that exact process

Director Edward Berger leads a star-studded cast, Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, and Isabella Rossellini through a fictionalized look at the secretive Vatican conclave

Google Trends shows an uptick in conclave searches on April 21st, the same day Pope Francis passed away

And online, users were quick to connect the timing, with one snarky post reading

the marketing for this movie is crazy. And another playfully asking Grok X's AI chatbot

if the Pope died just to boost the movie, but it's all a coincidence

The cast and crew signed on back in 2022 and Screen Rant reports the film was actually scheduled to drop on April 13th before any real life events unfolded And as for accuracy Conclave is historically inspired but not a documentary

Still, author Robert Harris told the New York Times that Pope Francis was in mind when writing the novel it's based on

Although God is supposed to move the cardinal electus to choose the pope

There's also quite a lot of politics as well in between meetings in the Sistine Chapel

The film captures several real elements from the Sistine Chapel setting to cardinals taking a vow of secrecy to the black or white smoke coming from the Sistine Chapel roof, signaling whether a new pope has been chosen

In real life, cardinals will gather within 15 to 20 days to cast secret ballots

However, unlike in the film, cardinals who have been named in secret cannot participate

So while the movie may take some creative liberties, the timing and the global fascination feels undeniably real for some

With Straight Arrow news, I'm Kennedy Felton. Download our app or visit SAN.com for more