Martin Scorsese is returning to the silver screen for Killers of the Flower Moon, and it turns out the new movie changed shape quite a bit in development. Shaping up to be one of the best movies of the year, we almost got quite a different vision of the project.
Scorsese himself recently discussed development of the 2023 movie with Time, stating that the focus changed drastically at one point. “After a certain point, I realized I was making a movie about all the white guys,” the filmmaker states. “Meaning I was taking the approach from the outside in, which concerned me.”
Leonardo DiCaprio, who plays Ernest Burkhart in the thriller movie, helped Scorsese reframe the narrative to be about Ernest’s relationship with Mollie, a Native American woman. Originally, the start of the FBI was more prominent, as the case explored in the film led to the bureau’s construction, but now that sounds like more a subplot.
This was almost definitely the right call. Killers of the Flower Moon covers heinous murders within the Osage tribe living in Oklahoma in the 1920s. The investigation comes up against enormous bias against the Native American community, and corruption within local and national politicians.
Not exactly irrelevant 100 years later. Robert De Niro joins DiCaprio and Lily Gladstone as William Hale, a landowner in the region who manipulated locals to his own benefit. De Niro, DiCaprio, and Scorsese alone make this a candidate for one of the best drama movies of recent years, and it sounds like it could be one of the best romance movies too.
We’ll find out when the Killers of the Flower Moon release date comes around. Not one to rest on his laurels, Scorsese has revealed that his next movie might be similar to his most divisive. Any new Scorsese is good Scorsese in our books, though.
You can read our Killers of the Flower Moon review to see why it’s something to watch out for. While we wait for it to come out, peruse our lists of the best Netflix movies and best movies based on a true story.