Leonardo DiCaprio’s True Story ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ Has a Secret Connection to Clint Eastwood’s $84M Biopic That Had Titanic Star Playing the Lead Role

In May, Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese’s sixth feature film collaboration, Killers of the Flower Moon, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. The premiere came after a long delay in production, with the film originally planned in 2017. The epic Western crime drama, based on David Grann’s book of the same name, focuses on the real-life murders of the Osage Native Americans in Oklahoma after oil was discovered on tribal lands.

The film was initially conceived as a thriller, with DiCaprio set to play the role of lead investigator Tom White. However, the script had to undergo extensive rewrites as the Titanic actor wanted to portray a much more intense Ernest Burkhart, the nephew of the murderer William Hale.

Leonardo DiCaprio’s True Story Has A Connection To An Earlier Biopic Of His

Leonardo DiCaprio also co-produced the film, made on a budget of $200 million, alongside Martin Scorsese. Interestingly, The Wolf of Wall Street actor had previously played J. Edgar Hoover, the long-term director and founding father of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in the 2011 film, J. Edgar. The biopic directed by Clint Eastwood explored the career of Hoover at the FBI and his personal life, including allegations of him being a closeted gay man.

During the time of the Oklahoma murders, Hoover served in the Bureau of Investigation (BOI), the predecessor to the FBI. A 29-year-old Hoover directed the BOI investigation into the murders, working with BOI agent and former Texas Ranger, Tom White, who is the protagonist of Grann’s novel. While Tom White’s character takes center stage in the novel, Hoover is only mentioned on the sides and is skipped altogether in the movies.

DiCaprio’s J. Edgar was received with mixed reviews, however, the Django Unchained actor’s performance was commended by the wider audience. J. Edgar with a budget of $35 million went on to gross $84 million at the box office.

Leonardo DiCaprio Has Given An Oscar-Worthy Performance In The Martin Scorsese Film

According to reports from the Cannes Film Festival, DiCaprio’s morally complex character in Killers of the Flower Moon is deserving of an Oscar. The Romeo + Juliet actor will give Cillian Murphy a run for his money, with Killers of the Flower Moon predicted to be Oppenheimer’s biggest competition at the next Oscars. David Ehrlich of IndieWire called it the best performance of Leonardo DiCaprio’s entire career.

The Martin Scorsese film took an entirely different route from the book, which focused on Tom White’s investigation. Instead, the movie focuses on the relationship between Ernest Burkhart and his wife and an Osage tribe member, Mollie Burkhart. This relationship unfolds amidst the white landowner’s ruthless quest to seize the tribal rights and land, led by Burkhart’s uncle, William Hale.

Besides DiCaprio, the film boasts an impressive cast of Robert De Niro, Lily Gladstone, Jesse Plemons, and Brendan Fraser. A grueling trailer for the film was dropped on September 13 and the film is set to hit the theaters on October 20. Distributed jointly by Paramount Pictures and Apple TV+, the film will have a streaming release on Apple TV+ at an unspecified future date.