A major pitch is in development for an untitled drama directed by Martin Scorsese, starring Dwayne Johnson, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Emily Blunt.
According to Deadline, the film is inspired by a real-life Hawaiian crime boss, described as a ruthless figure who fought off encroaching rivals to control organized crime in Hawaii. The character is likened to Robert De Niro’s Jimmy the Gent from Goodfellas.
Nick Bilton is set to write the screenplay, with Scorsese, Johnson, Blunt, DiCaprio, Bilton, Dany Garcia, Lisa Frechette, and Rick Yorn attached as producers. The project is particularly meaningful to Johnson, who has deep ties to Hawaii and has long aspired to make a film set there.
Synopsis: The article notes the film is about, “a turbulent time on the island paradise when an aspiring mob boss battled rival crime factions to wrest control of the underworld of the Hawaiian islands. It was a bloody battle, the kind of terrain Scorsese covered in both Goodfellas and The Departed. In 1960s and 70s Hawaii, this formidable and charismatic mob boss rises to build the islands’ most powerful criminal empire, waging a brutal war against mainland corporations and rival syndicates while fighting to preserve his ancestral land. It’s based on the untold true story of a man who fought to preserve his homeland through a ruthless quest for absolute power — igniting the last great American mob saga, where the war for cultural survival takes place in the unlikeliest of places: paradise.”
This marks another collaboration between DiCaprio and Scorsese, following their recent work on the Best Picture-nominated Killers of the Flower Moon. Their past films together include The Aviator, The Departed, Gangs of New York, and The Wolf of Wall Street. Meanwhile, Johnson and Blunt, who previously co-starred in Disney’s Jungle Cruise, are also set to reunite in A24’s Smashing Machine, directed by Benny Safdie and slated for release later this year.
Johnson and Blunt initially brought the idea to Scorsese and DiCaprio, who quickly joined the project. With Bilton now onboard to write, the film is moving toward development.
