This isn’t necessarily a surprise, but it does confirm that Martin Scorsese was indeed supposed to shoot one of two possible new projects with Leonardo DiCaprio this past summer, before those plans were canceled.
That’s according to Puck News. If you recall, there was a previous report that DiCaprio had suddenly dropped out of Damien Chazelle’s Evel Knievel movie—originally set to shoot this summer—due to his commitment to a Scorsese project. As it turns out, neither project moved forward.
This is now the second straight summer that a Scorsese production has been delayed. If you remember, Variety reported that he was supposed to shoot “Sinatra” and “The Life of Jesus” back-to-back last summer, but those planned shoots were scrapped for undisclosed reasons. This led to speculation about Scorsese’s health, but the legendary filmmaker later reiterated that he has no plans to retire.
Last month, I mentioned that Scorsese ultimately would not be going into production on any new film this year, with plans now pushed back to 2026. No further details have been given about the reasons for the delay—it’s anyone’s guess.
As for what those two mysterious projects Puck is referring to might be, that remains unclear. It’s definitely not “The Life of Jesus,” which is in the midst of rewrites. Based on what we know, there are a few potential Scorsese/DiCaprio collaborations that could be in play: “Sinatra,” “Home,” “Devil in the White City,” and the Hawaii-set mob movie starring Dwayne Johnson.
DiCaprio is currently promoting “One Battle After Another,” and given the Oscar buzz surrounding his performance, and the film, I’d imagine he’ll be busy campaigning until February or March, which would delay any commitments he might have to shoot with Scorsese.
Earlier this year, Scorsese, 82, told USA Today that he had no idea what his next film would be, but admitted that time was flying by and he needed to start moving quickly.
"I don’t know what's next; I’ve got to get going here," he says with a laugh, suddenly reaching over to grab a stack of scripts. "I have some reading to do."
Scorsese hasn’t been on a movie set since shooting “Killers of the Flower Moon” in 2021. He’s not getting any younger. Time is flying by. Time to get to work, maestro, with or without DiCaprio.
Last week, Warner Bros. confirmed that Matt Reeves had stepped away from the shoot, which has been “temporarily paused” while he focuses on a family matter. Cameras had been rolling since May.