Martin Scorsese’s upcoming epic, Killers of the Flower Moon, is premiering soon, so here’s everything you need to know about it including its release date, trailer, cast, plot, and more.
Killers of the Flower Moon marks a major moment in cinema, as it’s Martin Scorsese’s first venture into the Western genre, with the filmmaker offering up an epic big-screen adaptation of David Grann’s crime book Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and The Birth of the FBI.
Scorsese is, of course, behind some of the biggest cinematic spectacles in modern history, with Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfellas, Cape Fear, Casino, and The Irishman marking just a number of films from his oeuvre.
With Killers of the Flower Moon running full speed ahead, here’s everything we know about the movie so far.
Killers of the Flower Moon release date: When is it coming out?
Killers of the Flower Moon drops in cinemas on October 20, 2023, before heading to Apple TV+ on an unspecified date.
The Paramount Pictures and Apple TV movie will enjoy its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on May 20, followed by a limited theatrical release on October 6 and a wide release later that month.
Production for the movie was expected to take place in Oklahoma in early 2018, but Scorsese was wrapped up with The Irishman during this time. Then the global shutdown hit, causing further delays.
Principal photography eventually started in Osage County and Washington County in April 2021, with filming running until October of that year, although some additional scenes were shot in May 2022.
Killers of the Flower Moon trailer: Is there a trailer?
An official trailer for Killers of the Flower Moon was released on July 5, 2023. Check it out below:
The trailer showcases some incredible cinematography as it takes viewers back to 1920s America with a sense of impending doom – and anyone familiar with the story will know why.
“There are many, so many hungry wolves – can you find the wolves in this picture?” Ernest Burkhart says as he reads from a children’s book. The narration plays over various flashes of scenes from the film, which is based on a true story about greed, murder, and racism against Native Americans that is deep-rooted in US history.
Apple TV posted a final trailer of Killers of the Flower Moon before its premiere date. You can watch it below:
The trailer heavily focused on DiCaprio’s performance as Ernest Burkart, with early reviews praising the Scorsese film.
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Killers of the Flower Moon cast: Who’s in it?
Killers of the Flower Moon sees Scorsese reunite with his longtime collaborators Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro, who are playing Ernest Burkhart and William Hale, respectively.
Other cast members include:
- Lily Gladstone as Mollie Burkhart
- Jesse Plemons as Tom White
- Tantoo Cardinal as Lizzie Q
- John Lithgow as Prosecutor Leaward
- Brendan Fraser as W.S. Hamilton
- Jason Isbell as Bill Smith
- Sturgill Simpson as Henry Grammer
- Tatanka Means as John Wren
- Cara Jade Myers as Anna Kyle Brown
Killers of the Flower Moon marks the 10th Scorsese movie starring De Niro and the sixth with DiCaprio. When asked by Deadline why it’s taken so long to get the acting powerhouses together, the filmmaker replied: “We talked to Bob about it, but he didn’t want to do it.”
“With Bob, after Casino we stopped for a while and I did Kundun, and Bringing Out the Dead,” he continued. “And then Gangs of New York. We always checked in, on that and everything else. He wanted me to do Analyze This, and I said, ‘We already did it. It was Goodfellas.’
“I talked to him about other projects, and at one point he said, ‘You know the kind of stuff I like to do with you.’ I said, ‘OK.’ That became The Irishman, and it took nine years. We were always looking. ‘What about The Departed?’ ‘Nah, I don’t wanna do that.’ ‘OK.’”
Nonetheless, it was De Niro who first recommended DiCaprio to Scorsese after working with him on This Boy’s Life. “After Goodfellas, he did This Boy’s Life,” added Scorsese. “We were talking on the phone, about what I’m not quite sure.
“He said, ‘I’m working with this young boy. You must work with him sometime.’ That was the first time I heard him recommend somebody to me. ‘The kid is really good,’ he said.”
Killers of the Flower Moon: What is it about?
The official synopsis for Killers of the Flower Moon is as follows: “At the turn of the 20th century, oil brought a fortune to the Osage Nation, who became some of the richest people in the world overnight. The wealth of these Native Americans immediately attracted white interlopers, who manipulated, extorted and stole as much Osage money as they could before resorting to murder.”
Based on a true story, the movie is “told through the improbable romance of Ernest Burkhart and Mollie Kyle,” and is described as “an epic western crime saga, where real love crosses paths with unspeakable betrayal.”
Eric Roth, who co-wrote the script alongside Scorsese, told Collider back in 2021 that he expects the movie to be “one for the ages,” adding: “I just think he’s [Scorsese] going to make – and obviously I would say this – but I think [of] all my work, this one could be one of the great movies. I really mean that. I think it has all the ingredients, which I don’t want to jinx it, but the story is so important.”
That’s everything we know about Killers of the Flower Moon. To read about the movie’s runtime, click here, and you can check out our upcoming movie coverage in the hubs below:
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