Hollywood filmmaker Martin Scorsese‘s upcoming western drama, Killers of the Flower Moon, starring Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio, will be hitting the silver screen in 2023, state sources. Earlier, there were reports that the film would be bumped to a 2022 release but sources said that the film will now be released in 2023 by Apple TV+ as originally slated.
Reports state that the discussions between the filmmaker and the studio over bumping up the film's release to 2022 occurred after the Will Smith controversy at the Oscars earlier this year changed Apple's release strategy for its slavery drama, Emancipation, which stars Will in the lead role.
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Scorsese is known for his arduous editing process with his frequent collaborator Thelma Schoonmaker. Despite wrapping the $200 million Killers of the Flower Moon in September 2021, the movie would not be ready in time for the coming Oscar season, state sources. Instead, it's now rumoured to be eyeing a big 2023 festival debut at Cannes, Venice or another event.
The film has been written by Eric Roth and is an adaptation of the best-selling novel Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann.
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Coming off its first best picture win for CODA, Apple TV+ still has multiple awards hopefuls on the cards for the upcoming awards season, including the Sundance Film Festival winner Cha Cha Real Smooth, the animated feature Luck, and the upcoming features from Jennifer Lawrence, director Peter Farrelly and producer Alfonso Cuaron.
There are ongoing discussions about whether and how Apple TV+ could release the Will Smith headliner Emancipation directed by Antoine Fuqua. Media sources said that the film may be moved to a 2023 release. They added that if Emancipation is released early, it can act as a strong contender for Apple at upcoming film festivals this season.