Just being a Martin Scorsese movie would make Killers of the Flower Moon one of the most anticipated new movies of 2023. But seeing the famed director reteam with not one but two of his all-time favorite collaborators — Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio — means Killers of the Flower Moon is a movie that you are definitely not going to want to miss.
The buzz around Killers of the Flower Moon has been around for a while, but 2023 is finally going to bring Scorsese's latest project to movie fans everywhere after a four-year wait from his last movie, 2019's The Irishman.
Here is everything that we know about Killers of the Flower Moon.
Killers of the Flower Moon release date
Let the countdown for Killers of the Flower Moon officially begin, as the movie is getting a limited release in movie theaters worldwide on October 6 before expanding to more theaters on October 20, per Apple TV.
We don't know when the Martin Scorsese movie is going to be made available to stream on Apple TV Plus yet, as the streamer has made a commitment to an exclusive run for Killers of the Flower Moon.
The first people to get to lay their eyes on the new Scorsese movie are those attending the Cannes 2023 Film Festival in May, as The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed that Killers of the Flower Moon is going to have its world premiere at the famous film fest.
Killers of the Flower Moon plot
Killers of the Flower Moon is based on the best-selling book by David Grann. Here is the official plot synopsis from Apple:
"Killers of the Flower Moon is set in 1920s Oklahoma and 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."
Scorsese and Eric Roth (Dune, Forrest Gump) are credited as co-writers of the script.
The full title of Grann's book is Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI.
Killers of the Flower Moon cast
To no one's surprise, Killers of the Flower Moon has a bunch of big names attached as part of its cast, but no two are bigger than frequent Scorsese collaborators Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio.
DiCaprio is set to play Ernset Burkhart, the patriarch of a family at the center of the murders taking place. DiCaprio has worked with Scorsese five times, in Gangs of New York, The Aviator, The Departed, Shutter Island and The Wolf of Wall Street.
Beating that number though is Robert De Niro, who has starred in nine Scorsese movies: Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, New York, New York, Raging Bull, The King of Comedy, Goodfellas, Cape Fear, Casino and The Irishman. De Niro has also acted with DiCaprio a couple of times in This Boy's Life and Marvin's Room. In Killers of the Flower Moon, De Niro is playing the character of William Hale.
Other high-profile members of the cast include Lily Gladstone (Certain Women) as Mollie Burkhart, Jesse Plemmons (The Power of the Dog) as FBI agent Tom White, John Lithgow (The Old Man) as Prosectuor Leaward and Brendan Fraser (The Whale) as W.S. Hamilton.
Here are additional members of the Killers of the Flower Moon cast:
- Tantoo Cardinal (Three Pines) as Lizzie Q
- Cara Jade Myers (Rutherford Falls) as Anna Kyle Brown
- JaNae Collins (Reservation Dogs) as Rita
- Jillian Dion (Alaska Daily) as Minnie
- William Belleau (The English) as Henry Roan
- Louis Cancelmi (Billions) as Keslie Morrison
- Tatanka Means (Reservation Dogs) as John Wren
- Michael Abbott Jr. (Fear the Walking Dead) as Frank Smith
- Pat Healy (Station 19) as John Burger
- Scott Shepherd (The Last of Us) as Bryan Burkhart
- Jason Isbell (Billions) as Bill Smith
- Sturgill Simpson (The Dead Don't Die) as Henry Grammer
Killers of the Flower Moon trailer
The Killers of the Flower Moon trailer is finally here. Narration from Leonardo DiCaprio features prominently, as he begs the question, can you spot the wolves in this picture?
Killers of the Flower Moon reviews — what the critics are saying
After premiering at the Cannes Film Festival on May 20, the first batch of Killers of the Flower Moon reviews have arrived, and they are good. As of May 22, the movie has a 97% "Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Here are some snippets of the reviews to give you a taste and what critics are saying:
Robert Daniels, The Playlist: "Seeing DiCaprio and De Niro match wits allows the film to remain in a liminal space where the characters' intentions are clear yet unconfirmed. But it's Gladstone who is the clear highlight."
Tomris Laffly, The Wrap: "Killers of the Flower Moon is vast and vital in its scale, purpose and emotional scope, a Western-thriller and ensemble piece that is every bit a Scorsese crime picture as one can dare to imagine."
David Fear, Rolling Stone: "[B]rimming with reverence for a culture that survived a horrible trauma as it is filled with exhilarating flourishes, film history references, and explorations of the faultline between the sacred and profane. And yes: It’s a masterpiece."
Martin Scorsese movies
Martin Scorsese is one of the most revered directors in Hollywood history. The Oscar-winner has made numerous movies now considered classics over his more than 50 years behind the camera. Here is a complete rundown of all the feature, narrative movies he directed (but check out IMDb for all of the projects that he has had his hand in):
- Who's That Knocking at My Door (1967)
- Boxcar Bertha (1972)
- Mean Streets (1973)
- Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974)
- Taxi Driver (1976)
- New York, New York (1977)
- Raging Bull (1980)
- The King of Comedy (1982)
- After Hours (1985)
- The Color of Money (1986)
- The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)
- Goodfellas (1990)
- Cape Fear (1991)
- The Age of Innocence (1993)
- Casino (1995)
- Kundun (1997)
- Bringing Out the Dead (1999)
- Gangs of New York (2002)
- The Aviator (2004)
- The Departed (2006)
- Shutter Island (2010)
- Hugo (2011)
- The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
- Silence (2016)
- The Irishman (2019)
