Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio are attached to produce a new film based on an original idea from Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt.
The Hawaii-set crime caper, which is currently being shopped to studios and streamers, is drawing comparisons in the industry to “The Departed” and “Goodfellas.” Even in spirit, there are no deals in place and the viability of the project depends on a distributor, according to multiple sources familiar with the package, but the untitled drama is set to be written by author and journalist Nick Bilton, who helmed the 2021 HBO documentary “Fake Famous.”
Johnson and Blunt, who had previously worked together on “Jungle Cruise,” brought the project to Scorsese and DiCaprio, and once they expressed interest, they all went to Bilton to ask him about writing.
Producers on the forthcoming film include Scorsese, Johnson, Blunt, DiCaprio, Bilton, Dany Garcia, Lisa Frechette and Rick Yorn.
If the filmmakers seem ambitious, that’s perhaps because they’re emboldened by Johnson and Blunt’s forthcoming collaboration on “The Smashing Machine.” That A24 drama, directed by Benny Safdie, has been tipped as Johnson’s most serious dramatic role yet.
Deadline was the first to report news of the package.
Angelique Jackson and Jazz Tangcay also contributed to this report.
More to come…
