Ghost: If Cardinal Copia “Proves Himself,” He “Will Become Papa IV”

Are you one of the millions of metal fans who is inexplicably passionate about which character Ghost mastermind Tobias Forge is playing at any given time? And, if so, are you upset that Forge’s latest character, Cardinal Copia, is not a Papa like his predecessors?

If you checked off ‘yes’ on both of those boxes, you can now turn your frown upside down. ‘Cause in a new Revolver interview, Forge says Cardinal Copia could someday get a promotion:

“There’s another aspect to ‘Prequelle’ that might not be immediately apparent: the age-old story of the master and the apprentice, of the older generation passing the torch to the younger. ‘That’s why we have a new guy,’ Forge explains. ‘The Cardinal is not the boss. He’s just the toastmaster. A cardinal is junior to a pope figure. We still have Papa Emeritus [Zero, a.k.a. Papa Nihil] but he’s passing on. He needs to teach the Cardinal to become a pope, to earn his skull paint.’

“Forge says it was always the plan for Ghost to have a succession of Papas. Each one has a built-in term limit — kinda like presidents. ‘And then there was gonna be a moment in time where you have to sort of chew through a little bit of an underdog person that you might not like,’ he says with a laugh. ‘So we end up with this character that I’m not even fond of myself. He’s new and he is an imposter and he hasn’t proven himself yet. But if he does, he will become Papa IV.’”

Such an upgrade in title will not, presumably, change Ghost’s music even the tiniest bit. Still, its significant because people keep telling me it is.

You can read the entire piece here. Prequelle is out this Friday, June 1.

[via The PRP]