Martin Scorsese debunks retirement rumors after two postponed films

When it was announced that two high-profile Martin Scorsese films – one a biopic of Frank Sinatra, the other on Jesus – were being postponed, it led people to wonder what exactly was going on, with some thoughts leading the mind to consider: Is Martin Scorsese retiring? Well, Marty is here to tell you that he doesn’t plan on going anywhere.

Appearing at the Museum of Cinema in Turin, Martin Scorsese told the crowd, “I’m not saying goodbye to cinema at all. I still have more films to make, and I hope God gives me the strength to make them.” OK, so that whole “gives me the strength” statement does feel a bit uneasy, but considering the level of passion and drive that Scorsese still has – the guy released a three-and-a-half hour epic just last year, the same he turned 81 – we really don’t have any reason to worry.

Martin Scorsese’s Frank Sinatra biopic has been on the table for years, with the latest iteration set to star Leonardo DiCaprio as Ol’ Blue Eyes and Jennifer Lawrence eyed for Ava Gardner, a figure featured in Scorsese’s The Aviator two decades ago, as played by Kate Beckinsale. Scorsese, as we know, has a history of bringing real-life stories to the big screen; but will the Sinatra biopic ever make it or will it go the way of his once-planned films on George Gershwin, Teddy Roosevelt and Alexander the Great?

As for his film on Jesus, Martin Scorsese – who has frequently incorporated themes of Catholic guilt into his films and at one point considered becoming a priest – did at least get a fix with his controversial 1988 film The Last Temptation of Christ. This film, however, would be based on Shūsaku Endō’s novel and hope to bring something fresh to the subject. On it, he said, “I’m trying to find a new way to make it more accessible and take away the negative onus of what has been associated with organized religion. Right now, ‘religion,’ you say that word and everyone is up in arms because it’s failed in so many ways. But that doesn’t mean necessarily that the initial impulse was wrong…”

Whatever Martin Scorsese does decide to do next, we’re just glad that he will, as he so often feels like one of the last of his kind.

What do you want to see Martin Scorsese do next? Do either of these projects fit the bill or do you hope he chooses another?