Leonardo DiCaprio to play Frank Sinatra in biopic directed by Scorsese

Martin Scorsese is reportedly directing a film on iconic singer Frank Sinatra and is in talk with his frequent leading man Leonardo DiCaprio.

This is not the first time Scorsese has been linked to a Sinatra biopic. His renewed interest in the project, sees him planning to cast DiCaprio, a regular in Scorsese’s films, having starred in ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’, ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ and ‘The Aviator’.

Joining DiCaprio potentially is Jennifer Lawrence, set to play Sinatra’s second wife, Ava Gardner. The pair previously worked together in the critically acclaimed film ‘Don’t Look Up’.

Despite the excitement, the film’s development hinges on approval from Sinatra’s daughter, Tina Sinatra, who controls her father’s estate. She has yet to greenlight the biographical depiction of her father’s storied life.

In addition to the Sinatra biopic, Scorsese is ambitiously casting for another major project, ‘A Life of Jesus’, based on the book by Shūsaku Endō.

The film, expected to star Andrew Garfield, is poised to begin production later this year with locations in Israel, Italy and Egypt.

Unlike his previous ventures into religious cinema with the 1988 release, The Last Temptation of Christ, Scorsese envisions this film to be predominantly set in the present day, aiming for a timeless quality rather than being confined to a specific era.

Running at approximately 80 minutes, the upcoming film will be a major departure from the nearly three-and-a-half-hour runtime of Flower Moon. Collaborating with critic and filmmaker Kent Jones, Scorsese has completed the screenplay and plans to begin shooting the film later this year.

Additionally, the acclaimed filmmaker is expanding his directorial prowess to television, helming a biblical series for Fox Nation.

He is also collaborating with Steven Spielberg on a Cape Fear series adaptation for Apple TV+. Spielberg, meanwhile, continues his exploration of sci-fi themes with an upcoming UFO feature based on an original story he penned.