After what feels like an eternity, we’ve finally been treated to a glimpse at Martin Scorsese’s new gangster drama The Irishman.
The director’s first film since 2017 drama Silence, which has been confirmed to kick start this year’s New York Film Festival on 27 September, will unite actors Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci for the fist time since 1995 film Casino.
New images show off the big reunion. In them, De Niro plays former hitman Frank “The Irishman” Sheeran with Pesci assuming the role of Russell Bufalin.
Other photos show Al Pacino, Ray Romano and Bobby Cannavale in character. You can see the stills below.
The film has been Scorsese’s most expensive project to date as lots of CGI was required to make the 75-year-old De Niro look like a 30-year-old for scenes set in 1959.
Production began on the filmmaker’s long-gestating mob drama in 2016 with lucrative rights picked up at Cannes Film Festival. Netflix later acquired worldwide rights to the film for a reported $105m setting a budget of $125m.
Based on Charles Brandt’s book I Heard You Paint Houses, The Irishman marks the ninth collaboration between De Niro and Scorsese – and they’ve also set plans to work on a tenth alongside Leonardo DiCaprio.
The Irishman will be available to stream on Netflix in November with a limited theatrical release expected in order to permit the film to compete at next year’s Oscars.
In an interview in June, Scorsese said Netflix was the only one willing to bankroll the ambitious film.
“No one else did. No one else did,” said Scorsese, who also turned to Netflix for his Bob Dylan documentary Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story By Martin Scorsese.
“We decided to make it with the understanding that it’ll maybe never be shown in theatres. They said, ‘You would have a time in theatres’ — a few weeks or whatever. I said fine. The idea was to make the movie, you see.”
Additional reporting by Agencies
