Martin Scorsese And Leonardo DiCaprio May Shoot 'Killers Of The Flower Moon' Early Next Year

Before cameras even start rolling on the new Martin Scorsese Netflix movie, The Irishman, the filmmaker already may have his follow-up project in mind. Scorsese may reteam with Leonardo DiCaprio for an adaptation of David Grann's ("The Lost City of Z") "Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI." Scorsese is apparently hoping to shoot the horrific true-crime thriller next spring.

Below, learn more about Killers of the Flower Moon.

A frequent collaborator of Scorsese's, production designer Dante Ferretti, told Variety Scorsese plans on making Killers of the Flower Moon a few months after he completes shooting The Irishman. Ferretti will soon go to Oklahoma to check out some locations, where the story is set. In the early to mid-1920s, over 60 members of the Osage Indian tribe were murdered over a large land full of oil. The crimes went on for years during what was called a "Reign of Terror," which involved J. Edgar Hoover and the Bureau of Investigation investigated.

Academy Award winning screenwriter Eric Roth, known for The Insider and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, wrote the adaptation. Here's the synopsis for Grann's book:

In the 1920s, the richest people per capita in the world were members of the Osage Indian Nation in Oklahoma. After oil was discovered beneath their land, the Osage rode in chauffeured automobiles, built mansions, and sent their children to study in Europe.

Then, one by one, they began to be killed off. One Osage woman, Mollie Burkhart, watched as her family was murdered. Her older sister was shot. Her mother was then slowly poisoned. And it was just the beginning, as more Osage began to die under mysterious circumstances.

In this last remnant of the Wild West—where oilmen like J. P. Getty made their fortunes and where desperadoes such as Al Spencer, "the Phantom Terror," roamed – virtually anyone who dared to investigate the killings were themselves murdered. As the death toll surpassed more than twenty-four Osage, the newly created F.B.I. took up the case, in what became one of the organization's first major homicide investigations. But the bureau was then notoriously corrupt and initially bungled the case. Eventually the young director, J. Edgar Hoover, turned to a former Texas Ranger named Tom White to try unravel the mystery. White put together an undercover team, including one of the only Native American agents in the bureau. They infiltrated the region, struggling to adopt the latest modern techniques of detection. Together with the Osage they began to expose one of the most sinister conspiracies in American history.

Killers of the Flower Moon was reported back in April. Initially, it was said that Robert De Niro would potentially star in the film as well, making it the first movie De Niro, DiCaprio, and Scorsese have worked on together, although they all collaborated on a $70 million commercial for a casino once. There's no mention of De Niro, who's starring in The Irishman, in Variety's report. Imperative Entertainment confirmed to the outlet they "are currently conducting preliminary research on the film, but there are no formal attachments nor confirmed start date at this time."