section_path: Production
section_name: Production
paragraph_text: Production
  
  It was announced in May 2022 that Ralph Fiennes, John Lithgow, Stanley Tucci, and Isabella Rossellini were set to star in the film, with Edward Berger directing. Additional casting was announced in January 2023 as production began in Rome. Filming also took place at Cinecittà. Filming concluded in March.
  
  The set designers took great care to replicate the Sistine Chapel, though they took some artistic licence with the Domus Sanctae Marthae. They made their set more prison-like to enhance dramatic tension because they felt that the real version was rather dull. Costume designers visited Gammarelli, Tirelli Costumi, and several museums in Rome as part of their research. For the cardinals' red attire, costume designer Lisy Christl opted for a hue used in 17th-century cardinal vestments, rather than the scarlet one from modern-day ones, believing it be "far more beautiful and far easier for our eyes". While writing the screenplay, Peter Straughan said that he met with a cardinal to discuss the logistics of the conclave. He also took a private tour of the Vatican, and said he did not feel hostility while there and felt that the Vatican had been open to him.
  
  It was announced in May 2022 that Ralph Fiennes, John Lithgow, Stanley Tucci, and Isabella Rossellini were set to star in the film, with Edward Berger directing. Additional casting was announced in January 2023 as production began in Rome. Filming also took place at Cinecittà. Filming concluded in March.
  
  The set designers took great care to replicate the Sistine Chapel, though they took some artistic licence with the Domus Sanctae Marthae. They made their set more prison-like to enhance dramatic tension because they felt that the real version was rather dull. Costume designers visited Gammarelli, Tirelli Costumi, and several museums in Rome as part of their research. For the cardinals' red attire, costume designer Lisy Christl opted for a hue used in 17th-century cardinal vestments, rather than the scarlet one from modern-day ones, believing it be "far more beautiful and far easier for our eyes". While writing the screenplay, Peter Straughan said that he met with a cardinal to discuss the logistics of the conclave. He also took a private tour of the Vatican, and said he did not feel hostility while there and felt that the Vatican had been open to him.