Right after Killers of the Flower Moon, Martin Scorsese is now gearing up to prepare for his next movie—only this time, it’s going to be about someone he already made a classic film about.
According to LA Times, Scorsese and Kent Jones are teaming for a movie about Jesus which they plan to shoot next year. After meeting with Pope Francis, Scorsese announced, “I have responded to the pope’s appeal to artists in the only way I know how: by imagining and writing a screenplay for a film about Jesus.”
Scorsese’s original Christ movie, The Last Temptation of Christ, came out in 1988 and was considered to be very controversial for its time. The idea was that they would attempt to depict a Jesus Christ (Willem Dafoe) that was more human with fears and flaws, and would depict Jesus with depression, doubt, and even lust.
The film had caused an uproar in the Christian community when it came out, and Scorsese was said to have been followed around by bodyguards just to ensure his safety.
As for the new movie, it’s said to be based on Shusaku Endo’s book A Life of Jesus. It’s also worth noting that Endo was also the author behind Silence, Scorsese’s film about a priest who finds his faith tested in medieval Japan. The movie is said to take place in present day, but like with all movies, Scorsese plans to make the movie feel timeless. He continues, “I’m trying to find a new way to make it more accessible and take away the negative onus of what has been associated with organized religion.”
Though Scorsese is best known for his contributions to the gangster genre, you can forget that he also has a religious critique streak about him time and again.
Killers of the Flower Moon is available on Apple TV.
