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Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon is fleshing out its cast roster, with Apple announcing John Lithgow as the latest addition to the movie's already-showy ranks.
Already enlisted to tell this true crime tale are Jesse Plemons, Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert DeNiro, Brendan Fraser, Lily Gladstone, Jason Isbell, Sturgill Simpson, Louis Cancelmi, William Belleu, Tatanka Means, Michael Abbott Jr., Pat Healy, and Scott Shepherd. Phew.
The movie is based on the non-fiction book by David Grann, Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI. The story takes place in 1920s Oklahoma where the serial murder of members of the oil-rich Osage nation led to nationwide uproar at a string of crimes referred to as the Reign of Terror.
Plemons stars as FBI agent Tom White, the man responsible for bringing about justice for these horrific acts, in a role DiCaprio was originally lined up to play. DiCaprio switched to the supporting role of Ernest Burkhart, a man who marries Mollie Burkart (an Osage woman played by Gladstone). Why? Perhaps because this gives him more screen time opposite DeNiro, who plays William Hale, Burkart's uncle and a powerful local rancher. Elsewhere, Fraser is set to play an attorney, who likely will share the screen with Lithgow's character.
Lithgow is enlisted to tackle the part of Prosecutor Leaward, a part he is more than qualified to play. He snagged three Emmys for his role in 3rd Rock From the Sun, another for his turn as the Trinity Killer in Dexter, another for his turn as Winston Churchill in The Crown, and another for Amazing Stories. Yes. He's got six Emmys. The man can act. He will soon be seen reprising his Dexter role in the upcoming revival and he's currently eyeing up another Emmy for HBO's Perry Mason.
Meanwhile, Killers of the Flower Moon marks the actor's first collaboration with Scorsese. This is the first movie from the filmmaker since 2019's The Irishman, but to be fair, his films are always worth the wait. He's co-writing the script with Eric Roth, who recently offered up this humble gem about the resultant movie: "I think it'll be like nothing we've ever seen, in a way. And so this one is, to me, one for the ages."
While that's a tantalizing sound bite, ramping up our eagerness, we've still no release date for Killers of the Flower Moon but fingers crossed it gets a release on Apple+ next year. Before its drop, catch Scorsese's previous film, along with the rest of the best Netflix movies to stream right now.
