Anyone who has ever seen a mafia movie in their life time is probably familiar with one of the two guys in the picture above. Even at their current age, Robert De Niro (Taxi Driver) and Al Pacino (Scarface) are regarded as two of the most famous actors of all time, and you partner up those two with a director like Martin Scorsese (The Wolf of Wallstreet) and you have an Italian American match made in heaven. Yet ironically enough the trio's upcoming film is actually called The Irishman, and will focus on the inner working of the Irish mafia and specifically the life of Frank Sheeran.
The film has been in the works for quite a while, but it seems Scorsese has finally gotten the ball rolling by eyeing a late 2018 release date according to Deadline. It will likely begin filming some time in early 2017, and will be hitting theaters just in time for award season of the following year. Scorsese's films have a knack for gaining a lot of interest from the academy, and with huge stars like Pacino and De Niro attached it will certainly gain even more attention.
The Irishman will also be a big film for both actors, and it will mark the first movie Scorsese makes starring Pacino, and a return to collaborating with De Niro since their 1995 film Casino. Both actors have struggled to have the same success with their recent roles that they had in their younger year, so it'll hopefully a return to form and quality for the pair. The budget of the film will also be around $100 million because Scorsese is actually planning on de-aging Pacino and De Niro so they can play younger versions of the characters, rather than having younger actors play those parts. Someones gonna have to call Dave Franco and break the news to him, I'm sure he was hoping to land that part.
Frequent mafia movie regular Joe Pesci (Goodfellas) was also originally set to star in The Irishman, but he ultimately chose to drop out and go back into retirement. There's always the possibility of Scorsese convincing him to come back, but it doesn't seem likely at this point. Scorsese currently has his film Silence starring Andrew Garfield, Liam Neeson, and Adam Driver eyeing an unspecified release date this year for award season attention, but it seems the movie still stands at over three hours. If it indeed is delayed till next year, that my effect the release of The Irishman.
So are you interested in seeing The Irishman? Do you think De Niro and Pacino still have what it takes to make an Oscar contender? Let us know below!
