Martin Scorsese’s upcoming Western crime drama, Killers of the Flower Moon, is set to have its world premiere at the 76th Cannes Film Festival. The festival confirmed the news this morning, and added that the screening will be held on Saturday, May 20 in the Grand Théâtre Lumière, Deadline is reporting.
The drama, which is one of this year’s most anticipated movies, has long has been considered a likely Cannes contender before it’s released in theater. Upon the official confirmation that the film will premiere during the festival, it was also announced that Killers of the Flower Moon will screen in Cannes’ Official Selection slate.
However, it hasn’t yet been announced if the drama will play in Competition. The news is expected to be announced at the festival’s press conference in mid-April. Scorsese will be joined on the red carpet at Killers of the Flower Moon‘s World Premiere at Cannes with the feature’s cast, including Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Lily Gladstone, Jesse Plemons, Cara Jade Myers, JaNae Collins, Jillian Dion and Tantoo Cardinal. The movie also stars John Lithgow and recent Oscar winner, Brendan Fraser.
DiCaprio was originally scheduled to star in Killers of the Flower Moon‘s lead role. But a subsequent changed promoted Plemons to the main role, and DiCaprio was cast as a supporting character. The film is based on David Grann’s best-selling 2017 non-fiction book of the same name. Besides directing the drama, Scorsese also wrote the screen adaptation’s script with Eric Roth.
Killers of the Flower Moon is set in 1920s Oklahoma. It depicts the serial murder of members of the oil-wealthy Osage Nation, a string of brutal crimes that came to be known as the Reign of Terror. An Apple Original Film, Killers of the Flower Moon will first be released exclusively in limited theaters in the U.S., in partnership with Paramount Pictures, on Friday, October 6. It will then expand to a wide on Friday, October 20.
The movie’s French release is set for October 18. It then will stream globally on Apple TV+. The feature must adhere to France’s strict distribution laws, which state that films can’t be shown on streaming platforms for at least 15 months after their theatrical release.
Besides co-scribing and helming Killers of the Flower Moon, Scorsese is also serving as a producer on the project. His fellow producers include Dan Friedkin, Bradley Thomas and Daniel Lupi. DiCaprio, Rick Yorn, Adam Somner, Marianne Bower, Lisa Frechette, John Atwood, Shea Kammer and Niels Juul are serving as executive producers on the drama.
Scorsese was awarded the Palme d’Or, the highest prize awarded at Cannes, in 1976 for Taxi Driver, which was presented in Competition. He subsequently returned to the festival’s Official Selection on a regular basis, and won the Best Director Award for After Hours, 10 years after the success of Taxi Driver. Killers of the Flower Moon is his first official selection to play at Cannes since After Hours. In 1998, the filmmaker served as Cannes’ President of the Jury. The jury presented the Palme d’Or to Greek director Theo Angelopoulos for Eternity and a Day.
Killers of the Flower Moon reunites Scorsese with his two most notable leading men – DiCaprio and De Niro. The filmmaker previously garnered acclaim for collaborating with DiCaprio on Gangs of New York, The Aviator, Shutter Island, The Wolf of Wall Street and The Departed, the later of which earned Scorsese his Oscar for Best Director. The filmmaker also famously worked with De Niro on Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfellas, Cape Fear and Casino. The duo also worked together Scorsese’s last released feature, the 2019 epic gangster movie, The Irishman.
Besides Killers of the Flower Moon, other movies that are expected to play at this year’s Cannes are Disney’s Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny and Wes Anderson’s sci-fi romantic comedy drama, Asteroid City. Cannes’ lineup is expected to be revealed on Thursday, April 13 in Paris, but the festival has not confirmed that date.
Cannes is scheduled to take place from May 16 to May 27. Two-time Palme d’Or winner Ruben Östlund will serve as the President of the Jury for the competition section.