Netflix secures deal for Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro’s next film

Netflix has won the rights to Martin Scorsese’s upcoming gangster movie. The Irishman was set to be owned by Paramount Pictures, but with its 12-year chairman Brad Grey exiting, Scorsese and co. chose to pitch the film elsewhere, with Netflix securing the deal for $100-million.

“Scorsese’s movie is a risky deal, and Paramount is not in the position to take risks. This way, he can make the project he wants.” A source told IndieWire.

Robert De Niro is set to star as real-life mob hitman Frank Sheeran in the biopic, and he joins an impressive cast with the likes of Al Pacino and Joe Pesci. It’s the first time Scorsese and De Niro have worked together since 1995’s Casino. But the director was keen to reunite with the actor:

“He is the only one left alive who knows who I am. It [this film] will be emotional. I’m not saying it will be a recreation of the kind of films we made up until Casino. It’s going to be something else. But we wanted to be together again.” He told Time Out.

De Niro will be digitally de-aged in the film so he can portray the many years of Sheeran’s life in crime. The Irishman is aiming for a 2019 release date.