We were not entirely sure what would be Martin Scorsese’s next film. Many believed it might be “The Wager” with Leonardo DiCaprio, but now Scorsese has sent us in another direction.
Scorsese was on a tour of Italy over the weekend where the director met with Pope Francis and announced that he will be making a film about Jesus.
“I have responded to the Pope’s appeal to artists in the only way I know how: by imagining and writing a screenplay for a film about Jesus. And I’m about to start making it.
This is the director clearly suggesting that this could be his next film. Scorsese made this announcement on Saturday during a Rome conference at the Vatican.
Of course, we already know that Scorsese tackled Jesus in 1988’s “The Last Temptation of Jesus Christ.” There’s also Mel Gibson’s very popular “The Passion of the Christ.” What kind of new territory would Scorsese be tackling here.
Last July, it had been reported that Scorsese was teaming up with Leonardo DiCaprio in an adaptation of David Grann’s novel “The Wager.”
This meant, not counting “Killers of the Flower Moon,” Scorsese now has four movies currently in development; a Jerry Garcia biopic starring Jonah Hill, a Teddy Roosevelt biopic, “The Wager” and this Jesus film. However, Scorsese seems to be indicating that the latter might be up next.
Paul Greengrass’ "The Uprising," starring Andrew Garfield, opened to $3.2M from 2,068 theaters this weekend. Yikes. The budget hasn’t been disclosed, but is said to be in the $20-$30M range.