VATICAN: Pope Francis is expected to appear in a spiritual film aimed at children, Italian producers said on Monday, but the Vatican said the pontiff will not be acting.

“Beyond the Sun,” described as a “family adventure story,” is in development by Rome-based distribution and production company AMBI.

The AMBI project, announced in a press release, led some media outlets on Monday to report that the film would mark the pope’s debut as a movie actor.

However, the AMBI website says the film intends to “end with an epilogue from Pope Francis...”

“The pope is not an actor,” a Vatican spokesman said, downplaying suggestions that Francis would be making any kind of film debut.

AMBI said filming would start later in 2016 and that profits would go to two charities that work with young people in need in Argentina, where Francis was born.