“Can you find the wolves in this picture?” That’s the question Leonardo DiCaprio‘s Ernest Burkhart asks over and over again in the teaser trailer for Martin Scorsese‘s “Killers of the Flower Moon.” The first footage from the film, released on May 18, paints a terrifying picture of 1920s Oklahoma, where members of the Osage tribe have been brutally murdered. The full trailer for the film was released July 5, and it shows the chaos, murder, and pain that took over Oklahoma during the period.
“Killers of the Flower Moon” – which boasts a sprawling cast that includes DiCaprio, newly minted Oscar-winner Brendan Fraser, Robert De Niro, Lily Gladstone, and Jesse Plemons – is based on the bestselling nonfiction book of the same name written by David Grann. It tells a story set in 20th-century Oklahoma when members of the Osage Nation are targeted and murdered by a serial killer, seemingly because of the Nation’s ties to oil. The string of crimes became known as the Reign of Terror. Grann’s book recalls the tale of how the modern-day FBI came out of the investigation into those murders.
Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon” began filming in 2021 and many expected it to be released last year. But now it’s one of the most highly anticipated movies of 2023 and is expected to make waves in the eventual 2024 Oscars race. “Killers of the Flower Moon” is also the 26th full-length feature film that Scorsese has directed. The movie premiered at Cannes in May, where is received strong reviews, especially for Gladstone.
Back in January, Gladstone told Variety that Scorsese worked closely with the Osage Nation on the film and that those conversations changed his ultimate vision for “Killers of the Flower Moon.” “The work is better when you let the world inform the work,” said Gladstone, who is of Blackfeet and Nimíipuu heritage and grew up on a Blackfeet Nation reservation. “That was very refreshing how involved the production got with the [Osage Nation] community. As the community warmed up to our presence, the more the community got involved with the film. It’s a different movie than the one [Scorsese] walked in to make almost entirely because of what the community had to say about how it was being made and what was being portrayed.”
Ahead, here’s what we know about “Killers of the Flower Moon” so far.