More than a year after formally announcing its follow-up to The Young Pope, HBO and producers Sky are getting the ball rolling on casting.

Two-time Oscar nominee John Malkovich is set to star, with season one lead Jude Law returning for The New Pope.

Law starred in The Young Pope as the fictional first American pope, an outrageously conservative figurehead who seems hell-bent on turning the world of the Vatican upside down. The cast of the 10-part series also included Diane Keaton, Silvio Orlando and James Cromwell.

A logline for The New Pope, as well as details on Malkovich's character, are being kept under wraps. Production on the new season begins in November in Italy.

The New Pope teleplay is being penned by The Young Pope's Paolo Sorrentino, Umberto Contarello and Stefano Bises. Like the first iteration, the series will be produced by Lorenzo Mieli and Mario Gianani for Wildside in co-production with Mediapro. FremantleMedia International will handle international distribution.

Malkovich, repped by WME, earned Oscar nominations for In the Line of Fire and Places in the Heart. This is his latest TV foray, following an arc on Showtime's Billions and in Amazon/BBC's Agatha Christie adaptation of The ABC Murders.

For his part, Law earned a Golden Globe nomination for best actor in a miniseries for his role in The Young Pope. He's with WME.