Robert De Niro is teaming up with veteran director Barry Levinson for a gangster movie written by Nicholas Pileggi, who wrote the book that drama movie Goodfellas is based on. And the project is apparently promising Double De Niro.
According to The Hollywood Reporter; “The project is centered on the true story Vito Genovese and Frank Costello, two Italian-American crime bosses that ran their respective families in the middle of the 20th century. In 1957, Genovese attempted to assassinate Costello but failed, although he was wounded and decided to retire, as much as one can retire from the Mafia. De Niro will play both characters, according to sources.”
Pileggi’s book about Henry Hill was also based on a true story, and it was adapted by Martin Scorsese into the masterpiece that was Goodfellas in 1990, also starring De Niro of course. Levinson is the director of Diner, Good Morning Vietnam, Rain Man and Wag the Dog. He has made forays into crime movies before with Bugsy starring Warren Beatty, and the underrated Sleepers, also starring De Niro.
According to THR, this new project is being championed by new Warner Bros CEO David Zaslav, who has caused controversy by scrapping Batgirl. Zaslav is pushing for theatrical releases, so it’s somewhat surprising that he’s so behind a movie starring De Niro (78), directed by Levinson (80), and produced by Irwin Winkler (91).
De Niro is obviously known for his long association with Mafia and gangster-related films, mainly with Martin Scorsese. De Niro and Pacino reunited with Scorsese for Netflix’s The Irishman in 2019.
While we wait for more news on this new gangster movie and whether it will in fact bring us a double helping of De Niro, check out our guide to the best thriller movies.