The world got quite the surprise this morning, as the new Martin Scorsese epic finally got its first trailer. The period drama is said to be a 3-hour and 26-minute journey through one of the tumultuous times in American history. Killers of the Flower Moon follows the oil boom during the turn of the century in Oklahoma. This film is based on a true story and showcases how the Native American tribe of the Osage Nation was destroyed in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, by white interlopers. You can see the trailer below:
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The trailer showcases Leonardo DiCaprio’s character, Ernest Burkhart, as he explores his romance with Lily Gladstone (Mollie Kyle) before the pair are thrust into the betrayal and greed of settlers stealing money from the Osage Nation. DiCaprio speaks in a southern twang while reading a children’s book about spotting wolves. His voice-over is accompanied by shots of Robert De Niro, Brendan Fraser, and Jesse Plemons.
During the boom of the oil in Oklahoma, many Native America in the Osage Nation became rich, resulting in them being taken advantage of by the white man. While these men did what they could to steal the money from the Osage Nation, it would lead to mass murder, sparking national outrage and an FBI investigation that involved J. Edgar Hoover.
The trailer recounts some of those horrific murders, which we can expect to be numerous in this nearly three and one half hour movie. Though this does seem like a long film, Scorsese does not push away from deeply exploring characters and real-life stories. His last directorial effort, The Irishman, also came in at three and a half hours.
While everyone can be excited about Martin Scorsese producing another film that brings back the likes of DiCaprio and De Niro, it might also be his final film, as the aging director got very candid about his age in a new interview.
Martin Scorsese Says “There’s No More Time”
Martin Scorsese sat down with Deadline when he went into depth about his new period drama, including the possibility of how fast he can get behind the camera again. The legendary director is 80 but understands that time is not on his side. In an honest yet crippling response, Scorses revealed his time is running out. Initially, he was asked if he plans to get back behind the camera, to which he responded, “I got to. I got to.” However, he also stated, “It’s too late.” Opening up about this cryptic response, Scorsese elaborated with:
“I’m old. I read stuff. I see things. I want to tell stories, and there’s no more time. Kurosawa, when he got his Oscar, when George [Lucas] and Steven [Spielberg] gave it to him, he said, “I’m only now beginning to see the possibility of what cinema could be, and it’s too late.” He was 83. At the time, I said, “What does he mean?” Now I know what he means.”
Akira Kurosawa is one of the most influential filmmakers of all time and one that many directors highly regard. He was 83 years old when he made his final film: Madadayo. Five years after, he passed away. Martin Scorsese is currently only 80 years old but believes his time is running out.
It takes quite a few years between films, and Scorsese’s last film was The Irishman, released on Netflix in 2019. We are now four years later, and Killers of the Flower Moon is set to release in October. Though Scorsese admitted that he wants to get behind the camera again as soon as possible, things could change dramatically in the next two years.
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We genuinely hope to see Martin Scorsese produce more films in whatever time he has left, which we also hope is far more than he is predicting. Killers of the Flower Moon could be another Academy Award-winning effort from arguably one of the greatest directors ever to grace cinema. We cannot wait to see the film, which will arrive in theaters on October 9, before heading to stream on AppleTV+.
Are you sad that Martin Scorsese might have made his final film? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!