Killers of the Flower Moon: Leonardo DiCaprio shares first look at Martin Scorsese serial killer film

DiCaprio ‘argued’ with film’s writer to play his character

Jacob Stolworthy
Tuesday 11 May 2021 09:24 BST
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The first look at Martin Scorsese’s new serial killer drama has been shared online by Leonardo DiCaprio

Last month, the 78-year-old director began shooting his new film Killers of the Flower Moon, an adaptation of David Grann’s best-selling book,

It follows an FBI investigation into a string of murders that plagued the Osage Indian tribe during the 1920s after oil was found on their land in Oklahoma.

The film stars DiCaprio. Lily Gladstone, Robert De Niro and Jesse Plemons.

DiCaprio shared the photo on his Twitter page via Osage News. He takes centre stage in the still alongside Gladstone – it shows the pair in character as married couple Ernest and Mollie Burkhart.

Interestingly, this was not the first character DiCaprio signed up to play.

After being cast as FBI agent Tom White, DiCaprio is said to have “argued” with screenwriter Eric Roth as he wanted to play Burkhart, who is the nephew of De Niro’s antagonist William Hale.

Plemons ended up replacing DiCaprio in the role.

The film is being shot in Oklahoma, with Scorsese stating: “To be able to tell this story on the land where these events took place is incredibly important and critical to allowing us to portray an accurate depiction of the time and people.”

Gladstone’s casting is also crucial as the actor is Native American, and grew up on the Blackfeet reservation in Montana.

See the photo below.

Lily Gladstone and Leonardo DiCaprio in ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’

Killers of the Flower Moon marks Scorsese’s second project to be released on a streaming service, with Apple TV+ funding the $200m budget film.

It marks the filmmaker’s first feature since The Irishman, which was released on Netflix in December 2019.

The film will be released in 2022.

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