As their sixth feature-length collaboration, Killers of the Flower Moon, edges closer and closer to its October release date (which hopefully won’t be impacted by the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA strikes a la Dune: Part Two), Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio have apparently locked in their next project — an adaptation of David Grann’s non-fiction book The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny, & Murder.
If the author’s name sounds familiar, there’s a good reason. David Grann is the journalist behind the #1 New York Times bestselling source material which has served as the basis for Scorsese + DiCaprio’s Killers of the Flower Moon. The Wager will also be produced under the Apple Original Films banner, meaning whatever went down with KotFM is clearly a winning formula.
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Of course, Apple isn’t the only party keen to get moving with this one ASAP. As per Grann, who has been promoting the print version of The Wager in France, both Scorsese and DiCaprio have already committed to the gig as soon as the Killers of the Flower Moon circus wraps up. Despite the other three films the veteran director currently has in various stages of development:
- A Grateful Dead/Jerry Garcia biopic starring Jonah Hill
- A new film about Jesus after meeting Pope Francis earlier this year
- And another long-rumoured biopic about US President Theodore Roosevelt; potentially led by old Leo to mark their eighth collab (though this might be dead given it was announced back in 2017)
According to The Hollywood Reporter, here’s what we’re in for with The Wager:
Set in the 1740s, ‘The Wager’ is set in motion when a patched-together boat with 30 emaciated men lands on the coast of Brazil.
The men were the surviving crew of a British ship that was chasing a Spanish vessel and had crashed onto an island in South America’s Patagonia region. Their tales of surviving the seas and elements made them heroes.
However, six months later another vessel even more beat up than the first showed up on the coast of Chile, this one with three sailors — who accuse the passengers on the other boat of being mutineers.
As accusations and counter-accusations flew, the British Admiralty set a special trial to uncover the truth of what exactly happened on the island, exposing a story of not just a captain and crew struggling to survive one of the most extreme climates on the planet, but also battling their own human natures.
At this point, it’s unclear who will be tapped to pen the screenplay. Given the parties mentioned above, Killers of the Flower Moon scribe Eric Roth (Forrest Gump, A Star Is Born, Dune) might be on the cards for a return.
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Dan Friedkin and Bradley Thomas of Imperative Entertainment are attached to produce alongside Scorsese himself via Sikelia Productions and DiCaprio with partner Jennifer Davisson via their Appian Way Productions. Release date TBA.
Here’s everything Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio have worked on together in the lead-up to The Wager:
- Gangs of New York (2002)
- The Aviator (2004)
- The Departed (2006)
- Shutter Island (2010)
- The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
- The Audition (2015) [Short film funded by Melco Crown Entertainment Limited]
- Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)
- The Wager (2024?)
