Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence will headline a new Frank Sinatra biopic, to be directed by legendary filmmaker (and longtime Marvel Studios antagonist) Martin Scorsese. By lining up the Sinatra movie to follow on the heels of his upcoming film about Jesus, Scorsese has set back-to-back films that feel like the most Martin Scorsese that any two movies could be. The filmmaker, who also has a TV adaptation of Cape Fear in the works, reportedly has not yet hammered out a deal with Sinatra’s estate to get the rights for an official biopic, but given his reputation and his long history of working with musicians like Bob Dylan and The Band, Scorsese is likely fairly confident.
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According to Variety, who first reported the news, DiCaprio will play Sinatra, and Lawrence portraying his second wife, actress Ava Gardner. Tina Sinatra, who controls her family’s estate, is the daughter of Sinatra and his first wife, Nancy (nee Barbato).
According to the report, there is already a lot of interest in the project. While Scorsese has recently worked with streamers like Netflix (for The Irishman) and Apple (for Killers of the Flower Moon), the Sinatra project feels like something that would go to theaters. The success of Bob Marley: One Love earlier this year proves there’s strong interest in the genre, and there are a number of similar projects lined up in the coming years, with Timothee Chalamet playing Bob Dylan in No Direction Home and Jeremy Allen White playing Bruce Springsteen in Deliver Me From Nowhere. Acclaimed filmmaker Sam Mendes has four movies — one about each of the Beatles — planned for the near future.
Variety cites Sony as the likely frontrunner for the as-yet-untitled Sinatra pic.
Last year, Marvel’s Eternals star Richard Madden expressed his interest in playing Sinatra in a biopic.
“I think there’s a story in Frank Sinatra somewhere that I’d really want to do,” Madden said. “I think there’s some younger years and some older years, and a bit of both. He’s got a fascinating life story. So who knows? If something like that comes along, I’d probably chase it.”
Sinatra will also reportedly play a role in Reagan, the upcoming trailer based on the life of the 40th President of the United States. As of 2020, Creed singer Scott Stapp was set to play Sinatra, but after a number of delays, it isn’t clear whether he still will.
