News about Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese reuniting for the book adaptation of Killers of the Flower Moon couldn’t make anybody more thrilled. Some of Leonardo DiCaprio’s best performances where he really shines as an actor has been in a Martin Scorsese film. However, Killers of the Flower Moon has reportedly hit a delay in its release.
A Deadline report says that Killers of the Flower Moon, a potential Oscar contender for its top categories, will not be around for the next Oscars race. Instead, the upcoming Western crime drama will get its global showcase premiere at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival next May. Not only will this film get the film festival premiere treatment, but will acquire a theatrical release from Paramount who will also cover the marketing costs and get a distribution fee based on box office earnings. Considering Scorsese’s new movie will be hitting Apple TV+ streaming as well, this will be the first Apple TV+ original film to get a full theatrical release compared to it only being released in select theaters for award eligibility purposes.
There’s no reason to fear that the new film festival plan will tarnish any chance that Killers of the Flower Moon has for Oscar wins. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood first premiered at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival scoring 10 Oscar nominations and winning Best Supporting Actor for Brad Pit and Best Production Design. Not to mention, it earned a worldwide box office total of $374.6 million. With Killers of the Flower Moon having the same aspirations and bringing more audience awareness with its streaming, I’d say this film has just as good a chance for success as any future Oscar-nominated film.
This wouldn’t be the first snag that this upcoming Martin Scorsese film has had to deal with. Reportedly after arguments that occurred relating to the script, Leonardo DiCaprio backed out of playing the hero of the story and instead decided to portray the nephew of the film’s antagonist played by veteran actor Robert De Niro. There was also the time when De Niro suffered a quadriceps muscle leg injury off-set which luckily did not delay production and the actor’s scenes were already filmed. Despite all of the snags that the making of this film has endured, we should still expect an extraordinary movie.
What we know so far about Killers of the Flower Moon is that the plot follows a series of mysterious murders of wealthy Osage Native Americans after oil was discovered on their land. It was this 1920s investigation that led to the birth of the FBI. Other than this being the sixth collaboration between Scorsese and DiCaprio, it will also be the 10th collaboration between the acclaimed director and De Niro. This will also be the third collaboration between De Niro and DiCaprio whose only films together have been 1993’s This Boy’s Life and 1996’s Marvin’s Room. Another thing to be excited about is seeing the epic return of Brendan Fraser and A+ actor John Lithgow.
Killers of the Flower Moon may be released later than originally expected, but this will just increase the anticipation Martin Scorsese fans will have with the wait being well worth it. This upcoming film will make its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2023.