Filmmakers Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese are teaming together on a new adaptation of a David Grann novel. Apple Original films have gained the rights to Grann’s next nonfiction book, The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny, and Murder. With Scorsese directing and DiCaprio starring, this is the formula that worked so successfully for both of them before. Wager takes set in the 1740s, when a shabby boat with 30 men on board crashes against the shore of Brazil and the crew decides to wager on the outcome. Their ship was being chased by an unidentified Spanish warship, and the guys are the only survivors. On the other hand, a second boat arrives off the coast of Chile, carrying three men who report that the first ship was scuttled by mutinies.
The British Admiralty sets up a trial, and the truth is exposed. The announcement comes only days after the official release date of Killers of the Flower Moon was postponed until 2023, removing it from consideration for the Academy Awards in 2019. Another Grann period piece, Killers of the Flower Moon, takes place in 1920s Oklahoma and depicts the Osage Nation’s serial killings. Among the cast are Robert De Niro as William Hale, Leonardo DiCaprio as Ernest Buckhart, and Lily Gladstone as Mollie, Ernest’s wife.
Actor Jesse Plemons portrays FBI agent Tom White, who is on the case to find out whodunnit. A premiere date for Flowers of the Killing Moon, directed by Wager, has been set for 2023.