Pope Leo XIV and Chris Pratt will star in Pétros Ení: Discovering the Origins, a documentary exploring the history and archaeology surrounding St. Peter's tomb beneath the Vatican, Vatican News reported. The film takes viewers into the Vatican Necropolis under St.
Peter's Basilica and draws on archive material, archaeological expertise and footage documenting the search for the apostle's remains. Its theatrical rollout is scheduled to begin in February 2027, during the first weeks of Lent, following the release of its first trailer on October 16, per EWTN News. Newsweek contacted Pratt's representative and the Vatican via email for comment on Tuesday.
Audiences in several countries are expected to get theatrical access to the Vatican-backed documentary, with distributors lined up across North and South America and Europe. Peter's Basilica marks 400 years since its consecration on November 18, 1626, bringing rarely seen areas beneath the church to the screen. Produced by AF Films in collaboration with Vatican Media and the Fabric of St.
Peter, the documentary takes viewers beneath the basilica and into the Roman necropolis preserved below it. Pratt guides the approximately hourlong journey, beginning outside St. Peter's Basilica before descending through layers of history toward the apostle's burial place.
Vatican News said the production includes images that had never previously been captured on film. Its evidence stretches beyond newly filmed material. Documents from the Archives of the Fabric of St.
Peter are presented alongside contributions from Vatican Necropolis expert Pietro Zander, recordings of previous popes and archival footage of epigrapher Margherita Guarducci. The title itself points to the film's central mystery. "Pétros Ení" refers to a Greek inscription meaning "Peter is here," found near what is identified as the apostle's burial grounds.
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