Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese are one of those iconic teams that just feel right. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that after their work on the 2024 Oscar nominee Killers of the Flower Moon, the boys are setting their sights on reuniting yet again. However, what is quite shocking is that their potential new collaboration is something the pair previously attempted to get off the ground over a decade ago.
Variety reports that both Apple TV+ and Sony are looking to secure their place to help realize Scorsese’s long-held ambition of making a Frank Sinatra biopic. DiCaprio is once again circling the role of the legendary singer, with Jennifer Lawrence apparently lined up to play his second wife, Ava Gardner.
We’ve known that Martin Scorsese has been developing multiple post-Killers of the Flower Moon projects. However, it seems that there are two titles that The Wolf of Wall Street’s director is planning on tackling back to back. What's taking priority over this Frank Sinatra movie is Martin’s next intended project, Life of Jesus, which is looking to secure Andrew Garfield and Miles Teller as that film's leads.
Martin Scorsese had previously tried to launch this Sinatra project around the 2012 timeframe, with Shattered Glass writer Billy Ray being brought in to write a draft. That version also had Leonardo DiCaprio attached in the lead, but unfortunately petered out for one key reason. Scorsese’s reason for giving up on the Sinatra project was, unsurprisingly, the reluctance of the singer's estate to agree to the project.
Apparently that concern is still very much in play, as the announcement of this potential picture’s resurgence came with the caveat that Tina Sinatra “hasn’t yet given her blessing to the film.” As report above mentions, this is a movie about the woman Frank Sinatra divorced first wife/Tina’s mother Nancy Barbaro to pursue, so that approval might remain elusive this time at bat.
Future developments will prove to be quite interesting, as Martin Scorsese’s decade-plus quest to make a Frank Sinatra movie continues in earnest. But while he continues to try and make moves to secure this potential renewal with Leonardo DiCaprio, you can currently stream the pair’s latest collaboration from your own home. At the time of writing, Killers of the Flower Moon is available for the public to see, through various rental platforms or the usage of an Apple TV+ subscription.
