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Curious what happens to the power vacuum at the top of the Catholic Church once the pope dies?
The 2024 Oscar-winning film Conclave deals with that exact scenario. If you’re looking for a dramatized version of what the Catholic Church will be doing in wake of Pope Francis’ death at 88, you’d be hard pressed to find one more current. Just one problem: Due to the frustrating and fluid nature of content licensing, you can’t actually stream it via any subscription service right now.
The movie, which stars Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, and John Lithgow as cardinals all hiding dirty secrets while vying to be pope, was available to stream on Peacock until very recently. Thanks to a deal between Universal and Amazon Prime Video, though, the title is moving to Prime video—a transition that was in progress right as news of Pope Francis’ passing came out on Monday. Currently, you can rent the film for between $6 and $20 on Prime, or you can wait until 3 am Eastern time on Tuesday to watch it on the service for free if you’re a Prime member.
The deal, signed in 2021, means that following their theatrical releases, Universal Filmed Entertainment Group movies head to Peacock for four months before switching to Prime Video for 10 months, then migrating back to Peacock for the last four months of the “Pay-One” window—the period that follows a theater release. WIRED has reached out to Amazon to confirm Conclave will stream starting Tuesday and will update this post if we receive a response.
Meanwhile, Bluesky, X, and TikTok are overflowing with bits about the movie—including jokes about how Pope Francis died soon after meeting US vice president JD Vance—and how a real-life conclave could work.
The timing of the Conclave movie shuffle to coincide with the incredibly rare historical event of a Catholic pope dying is an extreme example of the perpetual game of whack-a-mole viewers are subjected to when it comes to streaming deals. Sometimes, no matter how many services we’re subscribed to, we still can’t watch what we want when we want it.
Conclave is a beautifully shot and spicy take on the church’s highest ranking clergy going through the highly secretive and ancient ritual of selecting a new pope, a period known as sede vacante. But it’s not the only good papal content out there.
So if you’re looking to scratch the itch with something that’s available to stream now, here are a couple of other options:
The Two Popes (Netflix, 2019)
Streaming on Netflix, The Two Popes stars Anthony Hopkins as Pope Benedict XVI and follows his friendship with his eventual successor, Pope Francis. It’s inspired by their real-life relationship.
The Young Pope (Max, 2016)
Starring Jude Law as the world’s first American pope, this 10-episode miniseries focuses on a pope who bucks conventions and eschews the advice of Vatican stalwarts in favor of the guidance of Sister Mary, an American nun played by Diane Keaton.
The New Pope (Max, 2020)
The New Pope picks up where The Young Pope leaves off, with Jude Law’s Pope Pius XIII comatose as the succession race creates turmoil and reveals scandal after scandal.
