Martin Scorsese’s next film may be Killers of the Flower Moon with DiCaprio

Last Updated on July 31, 2021

I'd be a little more surprised if Martin Scorsese wasn't going to reunite with Leonardo DiCaprio, but as the pair seem to enjoy working together and their partnership has resulted in some stellar movies, why put a stop to a good thing? Dante Ferretti, Scorsese's longtime production designer, told Variety that the director is hoping to start shooting KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON in the spring of 2018, right after he completes work on THE IRISHMAN.

Based on David Grann's bestselling true-crime thriller "Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI," the film will deal with the Osage Indian nation in Oklahoma in the 1920's, who became quite wealthy after oil was discovered beneath their land. Then, one by one, the Osage began to be killed off and the ensuing spiral of conspiracy, greed and murder got so bad that the FBI had to step in. Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio have been eyeing the project for several months, and Ferretti told Variety that he will soon be going to Oklahoma in order to do preliminary location scouting for the film, adding that "the whole 1920s world of the Indians who lived there needs to be reconstructed" for the film and that he expects to "start preparing this film in September, because Scorsese will shoot it immediately after finishing The Irishman." The script for KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON has reportedly been penned by Eric Roth (THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON).

A synopsis of "Killers of the Flower Moon" via Amazon:

In this last remnant of the Wild West—where oilmen like J. P. Getty made their fortunes and where desperadoes like Al Spencer, the “Phantom Terror,” roamed—many of those who dared to investigate the killings were themselves murdered. As the death toll climbed to more than twenty-four, the FBI took up the case. It was one of the organization’s first major homicide investigations and the bureau badly bungled the case. In desperation, the young director, J. Edgar Hoover, turned to a former Texas Ranger named Tom White to unravel the mystery. White put together an undercover team, including one of the only American Indian agents in the bureau. The agents infiltrated the region, struggling to adopt the latest techniques of detection. Together with the Osage they began to expose one of the most chilling conspiracies in American history.

In Killers of the Flower Moon, David Grann revisits a shocking series of crimes in which dozens of people were murdered in cold blood. Based on years of research and startling new evidence, the book is a masterpiece of narrative nonfiction, as each step in the investigation reveals a series of sinister secrets and reversals. But more than that, it is a searing indictment of the callousness and prejudice toward American Indians that allowed the murderers to operate with impunity for so long. Killers of the Flower Moon is utterly compelling, but also emotionally devastating.

Before Martin Scorsese begins thinking too much about KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON, he'll be diving into THE IRISHMAN, the much anticipated film which will chronicle the career of Frank “The Irishman” Sheeran, a mob hitman who was supposedly involved in the death of Jimmy Hoffa. Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci, Harvey Keitel, Bobby Cannavale, and Ray Romano will be starring in the film which is expected to kick off production by September.