Jesse Plemons is getting some repeat business with Martin Scorsese. Following his supporting appearance in Scorsese’s “The Irishman” from last year, Plemons is now set to reteam with the director on the upcoming $200-million drama, “Killers of The Flower Moon.” Based on the David Grann book of the same name and adapted by Eric Roth (“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”), the crime drama centers on members of the Indigenous American Osage tribe in the United States who are murdered under mysterious circumstances in the 1920s, sparking a major F.B.I. investigation involving J. Edgar Hoover. The film currently stars, so-far Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, and Lily Gladstone, the breakout star of Kelly Reichardt‘s 2016 indie “Certain Women.”
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The bummer, for the in-demand Plemons who just came off the critically-acclaimed “I’m Thinking Of Ending Things,” and “Judas And The Black Messiah,” is that in doing Scorsese’s movie, he had to turn town the male lead role in Jordan Peele’s latest thriller (Daniel Kaluuya got that role yesterday; presumably the lead anyhow, not much is known about it). THR says, “the hope was for Plemons to do both, but scheduling ultimately could not be worked out. Peele’s movie is to shoot early summer while Flower Moon shoots from May to late summer.”
That’s also something of an update as reports from Oklahoma where the movie is shooting recently had a beginning of April start date (COVID-19 keeps changing everything). But why turn down the lead for Jordan Peele? Well, this isn’t just a small supporting role like “The Irishman” was. Plemons finds himself in the role originally intended for DiCaprio before the Oscar-winner segued to a secondary lead (DiCaprio’s said in the past he’s playing the villain of the movie, which was ultimately more interesting to him). This means, Plemons is definitely taking the lead of the movie and playing an FBI agent who leads the investigation into these serial killer murders; what a coup for the actor.
READ MORE: Martin Scorsese Signs Production Deal With Apple For New Films & TV Series
Scorsese turned heads in 2020 when, he veered away from Netflix—who had just produced “The Irishman”— and he teamed with Apple on this, reportedly $200-million-costing film (though Paramount, whom Scorsese has a long history with, will help them release it theatrically, and no one other than Apple reportedly wanted to pay that price tag).
Apple Originals has been trying to make a splash, and what better way to do that by securing a Martin Scorsese movie and the most anticipated film of 2021…or 2022? Given the film’s shoot goes from May-to late summer, maybe August or September, we’re likely looking at a movie that comes out 2022, and our Most Anticipated list is wrong. Still, hell, we’re ok with that as long as Mr. Scorsese just keeps making great cinema (that fits into no easy “content“ bucket).
