Martin Scorsese is reviving an entertaining – if relatively short – acting career in Julian Schnabel’s new movie. More below:
In a moving interview with Deadline last year, director Martin Scorsese expressed that, at 80 years old, he was increasingly worried about running out of time.
Well, if 2024’s anything to go by, he’s certainly making the most of the time that he has. On top of announcing his upcoming (and untitled) film about a certain Jesus Christ and making a Squarespace advert with his daughter, Variety has revealed that Scorsese has been cast in the role of Dante’s mentor in Julian Schnabel’s upcoming crime mystery In The Hand Of Dante.
The veteran director/TikTok star apparently plays “a small but powerful role” in the film as “an elderly sage who influences Dante Alighieri while he is writing The Divine Comedy.”
In The Hand Of Dante is being produced independently, and is based on the novel of the same name by Nick Tosches. Its narrative hops between the 14th and 21st centuries, as a handwritten manuscript of Dante’s rather famous poem makes its way into the hands of a New York mob boss.
It also boasts a pretty impressive cast, with Oscar Isaac, Gal Gadot, Jason Momoa, Gerard Butler and Al Pacino all starring alongside Scorsese, who also takes an Executive Producer credit.
“He is extraordinary in the film,” Schnabel told Variety. “You can’t take your eyes off him.” Based on Scorsese’s extraordinary performance as a pufferfish in 2004’s Shark Tale, we’re inclined to believe him.
The film is rumoured to feature at the Venice International Film Festival in August, but no official release date has been given yet.
