Ashley Bell To Star Opposite Melissa Leo In Religious Drama Novitiate

Buoyed by the critical acclaim directed at her role in Carnage Park, Ashley Bell has boarded Maggie Betts’ coming-of-age religious drama, Novitiate.

The Wrap has the scoop, revealing that news broke mere hours before Bell’s Carnage Park made its bow at Sundance Film Festival. Joining the likes of Melissa Leo, Dianna Agron and Margaret Qualley for Novitiate, which is a term used to describe the process of spiritual training before becoming an active member of a religious institution, it’s understood that Bell will step into the graceful shoes of Sister Margaret.

Set against the 1960s, Maggie Betts’ first foray as a director weaves a story about the personal pressures associated with a life of pure devotion to the Catholic church, the sacrifices it entails, and ultimately how it impacts a woman’s ability to love. One of the main driving forces of the drama, though, is when Qualley’s Sister Cathleen begins to question her own faith during the titular initiation period.

Handled correctly, it has all the makings for powerful, engrossing drama, and with a cast list that is completed by Julianne Nicholson, Stacy Martin, Rebecca Dayan, Morgan Saylor, Maddie Hasson and Chris Zylka, we can be quietly confident ahead of Novitiate taking its first steps in front of the camera.

Bell’s previous credits include a breakout role in horror hit The Last Exorcism, with Carnage Park currently turning heads and raising eyebrows in the wake of its Sundance premiere – find out why here. Novitiate, meanwhile, is currently without an official release window.