Apple secures deal for Scorsese's next film starring DiCaprio, De Niro: media

Director Martin Scorsese attends the AFI 2019 Awards luncheon in Los Angeles, California, U.S., January 3, 2020. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni/Files

Apple Inc has secured a deal for Hollywood veteran Martin Scorsese's next film, "Killers of the Flower Moon," U.S. media reported on Wednesday, citing sources.

"Killers of the Flower Moon" will star Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro. It is the second major film that Apple has acquired after "Greyhound," starring Tom Hanks, last year.

The film will be labeled an Apple Original Film, and ViacomCBS Inc's Paramount Pictures will distribute it theatrically worldwide, according to reports from the Wall Street Journal and Deadline.

Robert de Niro waves on the red carpet during the Oscars arrivals at the 92nd Academy Awards in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, U.S., February 9, 2020. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard/Files

Apple beat rivals such as Netflix Inc that were also interested to produce the film, the WSJ reported.

Apple declined to comment. ViacomCBS was not immediately available for comment.

"Killers of the Flower Moon" is an adaptation of the non-fiction book of the same name, by David Grann. The book is based on an FBI investigation into the killings of Native American Osages during the 1920s.

Scorsese's last film, The Irishman, was released on Netflix last year and helped the company boost its paid subscribers in the fourth quarter.

(Reporting by Aakriti Bhalla in Bengaluru and Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; Editing by Leslie Adler)