Killers of the Flower Moon is Martin Scorsese’s follow-up to his epic The Irishman. It is based on the non-fiction book of the same title, written by David Grann, and will take place in the decade of the 1920s. The film will bring together two of Scorsese’s biggest collaborators – Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro. This marks the sixth collaboration between Scorsese and DiCaprio and the tenth collaboration between Scorsese and De Niro.

Premise

Killers of the Flower Moon will, as mentioned above, take place in the 1920s. According to David Grann, America was still a lawless land full of outlaws and sheriffs in that decade. This, therefore, makes the film Scorsese’s first-ever western. The film is concerned with the mysterious murders that troubled the Osage people in present-day Oklahoma.

The murders followed the discovery of oil in the land owned by the Osage tribe. After the Osage tribe gained the rights to profit off the oil, they became the richest family in the world. Following this, many members of the tribe began to be mysteriously murdered, leading to the formation of an investigation team. Subsequently, this investigation team became the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Cast – Killers of the Moon

The biggest attraction in the film, after Martin Scorsese, is the much-awaited collaboration between Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro. Both the actors first appeared together in This Boy’s Life and then worked with Scorsese in his short film The Audition. Robert De Niro will be playing William Hale, who was the lead suspect in the FBI’s investigation in the Osage murders. While Leonardo DiCaprio will play Hale’s nephew, Ernest Burkhart.

Jesse Plemons, who last collaborated with Scorsese in The Irishman, will play the lead agent Tom White. Plemons joined the cast in November 2020 when DiCaprio renegotiated to be cast as Ernest Burkhart, therefore giving Plemons the role of Tom White. Lily Gladstone plays Mollie Burkhart, wife of Ernest Burkhart and a woman belonging to the Osage tribe. Brendan Fraser was a last-minute addition to the cast, who will play lawyer WS Hamilton. Along with all of them, Scorsese has cast several indigenous actors as members of the Osage Nation in Killers of the Flower Moon.

Production

For Killers of the Flower Moon, Scorsese will be partnering with numerous masters of their arts. Eric Roth wrote the screenplay for the film and had been working on it for several years now. The legendary production designer Jack Fisk will be working with Scorsese for the first time. Rodrigo Prieto, Scorsese’s cinematographer for his previous four projects, will be working on this film again. The music will be composed by The Band’s lead guitarist, Robbie Robertson, who has composed music for the bulk of Scorsese’s films.

Scorsese is working closely with Osage Nation to accurately depict their culture in his film. The chief of Osage Nation, Geoffrey Standing Bear, is one of the leading consultants of the film. The production of the film is reportedly bringing back painful memories for the Osage Nation, but they’re glad this incident is getting the attention it deserves.

After the budget of Killers of the Flower Moon reached $200 million, Paramount decided to sell the film. Therefore, the film will now exclusively stream on Apple TV+, with Paramount providing the film a worldwide release. The filming began on 29 April 2021, and the film’s release date can be expected in 2022.