The Irishmanstar Jesse Plemons is reuniting with legendary director Martin Scorsese for his next picture,Killers of the Flower Moon, with the actor set to take on the lead role. Plemons joins the likes of Academy Award winner Leonardo DiCaprio and Academy Award winner Robert De Niro in big-budget thriller which Scorsese is directing for Apple Studios and Imperative Entertainment.
The lead in such a major production is a real win forJesse Plemons, who for the last few years has proven his talent time and again, bolstering the likes ofBreaking Bad,The Irishman,The Post, and the comedyGame Nightin scene-stealing supporting roles. Plemons will play the role that was originally due to be taken on by DiCaprio before the celebrated actor requested rewrites and the chance to play a secondary lead.
Plemons therefore will play Tom White, the lead FBI agent investigating the murders at the centre ofKillers of the Flower Moonwhich became known as the Reign of Terror. Based on the critically acclaimed bookKillers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBIby David Grann, the movie will tell the story of a series of murders of wealthy Osage people that took place in Osage County, Oklahoma in the early 1920s-after big oil deposits were discovered beneath their land. This sparks a major F.B.I. investigation involving J. Edgar Hoover.
Leonardo DiCapriowill now play nephew toRobert De Niro, with theRaging Bullstar playing William Hale, “King of the Osage Hills,” the man responsible for most of the murders. Lily Gladstone ofCertain WomenandBillionsfame fills out the cast as Ernest Burkhart, an Osage married to DiCaprio’s character.
The man behindForrest GumpandThe Good Shepherd, Eric Roth, has penned the script with production set to take place on location in Oklahoma. Scorsese will direct and produce the project for Apple Studios and Imperative Entertainment. Producing alongside Scorsese are Imperative’s Dan Friedkin and Bradley Thomas, and DiCaprio’s Appian Way Productions.
Martin Scorsesehas previously provided some insight into what audiences can expect from the project, with the director callingKillers of the Flower Moona “western” saying, “We think it’s a western. It happened in 1921-1922 in Oklahoma. They are certainly cowboys, but they have cars and also horses.”
Plemons can currently be seen in the powerful historical biopicJudas and the Black Messiahalongside Oscar nominee Daniel Kaluuya andGet Outstar LaKeith Stanfield, which tells the story of William O’Neal, who is forced to accept a plea deal with the FBI and infiltrate the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party to gather intelligence on Chairman Fred Hampton.
Along with the lead inKillers of the Flower Moon, Plemons was also reportedly being sought after to take the main role in director Jordan Peele’s next feature, with the actor having to turn down the chance to join Peele’s latest thriller due to scheduling conflicts.
Scorsese reuniting with both DiCaprio and De Niro was already an exciting enough prospect, and with Plemons now set to lead the way,Killers of the Flower Moonhas all the potential to be a true silver cinematic classic.Killers of the Flower Moondoes not yet have a release date. This comes to us courtesy ofDeadline.
