The most popular director Martin Scorsese associations are with gangster and wise guy movies from the past. But the director is branching out with his first Western in his upcoming movie Killers of the Flower Moon.
The narrative of at least twenty Osage Tribal members murdered in Oklahoma during the 1920s is told in the movie, an adaptation of journalist David Grann’s 2017 nonfiction book Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and The Birth of the FBI.
Even though the film rights to Grann’s novel were sold in 2016 — one year before it was even published — production on the eagerly awaited movie didn’t start until 2021.
Martin Scorsese was added to the project after several directors indicated an interest in it without formally agreeing to do so.
The COVID-19 epidemic forced a mid-2020 postponement of filming, which was initially scheduled to start in March 2020. What is known thus far about the project is listed below.
Killers of the Flower Moon Release Date
On May 20, 2023, Killers of the Flower Moon made its global premiere at the 76th Cannes Film Festival. After its showing, the movie got a nine-minute standing ovation.
Paramount Pictures plans to release it in a few cinemas on October 6, 2023, and then to the general public on October 20, 2023. Additionally, Apple TV+ will stream it at an unspecified time.
Regal shares a tweet embedded below:
NEW TRAILER for ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ – coming to Regal on October 6. pic.twitter.com/SkbEbQVFhJ
— Regal (@RegalMovies) May 18, 2023
Killers of the Flower Moon Cast
The Academy Award winners Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert de Niro, who has been Scorsese’s longtime muse and colleagues in numerous films, were among the recognizable faces he brought on board when he agreed to the helm.
Killers of the Flower Moon marks Scorsese and De Niro’s tenth feature together (they are eleventh overall if you count the 2015 short film The Audition). There are arguably few actor-director pairings as popular or successful as that of Scorsese and De Niro.
Since 1973’s Mean Streets, the two have collaborated on several projects, including Taxi Driver, New York, New York, Raging Bull (which earned De Niro his second Best Actor Oscar), The King of Comedy, Goodfellas, Cape Fear, Casino, and The Irishman.
In Killers of the Flower Moon, De Niro plays William Hale, the wicked cattle tycoon supposed to have plotted the contract killings of wealthy Osage tribal members. This will be Scorsese, and de Niro’s eleventh film together, which will undoubtedly maintain their illustrious history.
With the release of Gangs of New York in 2002, Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio began a more modern but no less illustrious partnership. The Aviator, The Departed, Shutter Island, and The Wolf of Wall Street are some of their other collaborative efforts.
Killers of the Flower Moon will be their sixth feature together (seventh if you include The Audition). DiCaprio plays Ernest Burkhart, Hale’s nephew in Killers of the Flower Moon, who fights with his conflicting allegiances to his Osage bride and powerful uncle.
Click on the links below to see when some of the most anticipated movies will finally release:
- Fast X Part 2 Release Date: When Will the Next Fast 10 Sequel Hit the Big Screen?
- Extraction 2 Release Date: Everything We Know About Thrilling Sequel
Jesse Plemons, a candidate for an Academy Award, plays FBI agent Tom White in the film. Recent years have seen a boost in Plemons’ career; he previously collaborated with Scorsese on The Irishman, in which he played Chuckie O’Brien.
DiCaprio was initially cast to play Tom White, but he ultimately decided to play Burkhart instead, leading Plemons to be given the part. The character of Mollie Burkhart, an Osage lady and Ernest Burkhart’s wife, will be played by Lily Gladstone (First Cow).
With his portrayal of attorney W.S. Hamilton, recent Academy Award winner Brendan Fraser (The Whale) continues an impressive acting return. Prosecutor Leaward, who attempts to convict Hale of murder, is played by Oscar contender John Lithgow (The World According to Garp).
Killers of the Flower Moon Plot
In the book Killers of the Flower Moon, the plot to murder roughly sixty Osage people between 1921 and 1925 is described in detail. The Osage Indian Tribe of Oklahoma received the right to benefit from the vast oil riches in the area toward the end of the 19th century.
The Osage nation was regarded as one of the wealthiest nations in the world due to the tens of millions of dollars that the Osage people generated on their own.
The prosperity led to deadly envy among other communities who hadn’t quite struck it as wealthy, and it made the federal government uneasy enough to assign Caucasian guardians to “assist” with financial management.
When the body of a rich Osage woman was discovered in the woods in 1921, these negative emotions quickly escalated into acts of violence. At least sixty affluent Osage tribe members had passed away by 1925.
The investigation was overseen by FBI agent Tom White, who found a complex plan by local cattleman William Hale to acquire control of the Osage oil.
To strengthen his claim to the land, Hale even persuaded his nephew Ernest Burkhart to wed Mollie Kile, an Osage native. It’s pretty safe to believe that Scorsese will make a dark and compelling movie from this story of racism, murder, betrayal, and money.
Killers of the Flower Moon Trailer
