An impressive ensemble cast of some of Hollywood’s most renowned leading men has been assembled and are set to star in the Italian mafia movie In the Hand of Dante with legendary director Martin Scorsese, a name synonymous with masterful storytelling and the mafia genre, serving as the executive producer of the film.
Few filmmakers have been able to successfully present their cinematic visions with such authenticity as Martin Scorsese and his wide breadth of feature films.
Influenced by early impressions throughout his childhood in Little Italy, a small neighbourhood situated in Queens, New York, Scorsese provides a foundation of authenticity and personal insight that made his portrayals of organised crime within the Italian Mafia in films such as Goodfellas and The Irishman not only rich and compelling but inherently realistic.
According to Deadline, Scorsese’s next project will see the iconic director return to the genre where he made his name, but this time listed amongst the executive producers of Oscar-nominated director Julian Schnabel’s upcoming feature, In the Hand of Dante.
Based on the 2002 novel by Nick Tosches, In the Hand of Dante follows a fictional discovery deep inside the heart of the Vatican library, where a priest chances upon the manuscript of The Divine Comedy, written in Dante’s own hand.
In a modern retelling of Dante’s classic, the text eventually finds itself in the possession of an Italian-American gangster, who employs Nick Tosches, a writer, to authenticate the text… until the inevitable temptation takes control.
The film will feature some of Hollywood’s biggest names, Oscar Isaac (Moon Knight, Star Wars), Jason Momoa (Aquaman) and Gerard Butler (300) in starring roles, transporting viewers, both literally and figuratively, from the criminal underbelly of New York to some of the most picturesque and evocative Italian landscapes in the region of Sicily, as Nick and Dante’s journeys become intrinsically linked.
The movie is currently in production in Sicily, Italy and has recently secured an Interim Agreement from SAG-AFTRA, permitting it to continue filming despite the ongoing actors’ strike.