Martin Scorsese has refuted rumours that heās set to retire following the delay of two upcoming films: quite the opposite, in fact.
A couple of weeks ago we covered a report which stated that both of Martin Scorseseās upcoming planned feature films appeared to have hit delays. The legendary filmmaker released Killers Of The Flower Moon in late 2023 and in the wake of that project, announced he would be tackling a film about the life of Jesus, along with a Frank Sinatra biopic.
Both projects were said to be smaller undertakings than the epic productions that have become Scorseseās trademark over the years.
However, in late September it was announced that both projects were on hold. No reason was disclosed at the time. Because both projects were suspended, that led to unfounded speculation from some quarters that the 81 year old filmmaker was in poor health. Yet Martin Scorsese has stepped up to quash that story, revealing that script revisions for his Jesus project have paused everything in his pipeline.
Speaking at a press conference in Italy, Scorsese said, āI have no intention of retiring. The film about Frank Sinatra is only postponed while the one about Jesus I am working on. I hope God gives me the strength and money to finish them.ā
Given that the filmmaker is in Torino to shoot a documentary about shipwrecks, he seems to be as busy as ever.
Martin Scorseseās next project, tentatively titled The Life Of Jesus, is said to be a self-funded film about the Biblical figure. Andrew Garfield is rumoured to be attached to play the title role with the project originally being slated to go before cameras this month. With script revisions being announced as the reason for the hold-up, we should see things get back on track relatively soon.
As for the Sinatra project, Apple and Sony were said to be interested in backing that one but we havenāt heard anything concrete yet. It sounds like Scorsese is very much commited to making The Life Of Jesus first though, so hereās hoping we do hear a positive update on the project soon.