Disney Circling Martin Scorsese’s Hawaii-Set Crime Thriller Starring DiCaprio, Johnson, & Blunt
You’d be hard pressed to find a more exciting film project than Martin Scorsese‘s Hawaii-set crime caper with this cast—DiCaprio, Johnson, and Blunt—so why wouldn’t Disney come scoop it up?
Deadline reports that the studio is nearing a deal for the project, which is being described as a kind of Goodfellas on the Hawaiian islands, with Robert De Niro’s Jimmy the Gent character instead a Hawaiian crime boss, based on a real person (as was De Niro’s character), who went head-to-head against other rivals to control the organized crime business on the islands.
Scorsese’s film, penned by Nick Bilton, is centered on Wilford “Nappy” Pulawa, who, in the 1970s, led the largest organized crime syndicate on the Hawaiian Islands, The Company. Nappy’s Company battled other crime syndicates, like the Triads, as well as the U.S. Military, for control of the islands. He was a feared crime boss, known for his brutality and his willingness to kill to keep control. The Company was involved in human trafficking, marijuana trafficking, gambling, and labor corruption, and ultimately, Nappy was charged with two murders and ended up in prison for 15 years for tax evasion. The film will be produced by Scorsese, DiCaprio, Johnson, Blunt, Bilton, Dany Garcia, Lisa Frechette, and LBI Entertainment’s Chris Donnelly and Rick Yorn.
With a package this exciting, it also makes sense that there were other bidders trying to land Scorsese’s star-studded film. Imagining the legendary director setting his sights on the Hawaiian Islands and showing us a side of paradise rarely seen in cinema is terribly exciting, especially with that cast and that source material. Considering the content of the film, Deadline writes that it would fit perfectly under Disney’s 20th Century banner, which is a good home for adult films and has one of the year’s most eagerly-anticipated titles, the upcoming Bruce Springsteen biopic Deliver Me From Nowhere, starring Jeremy Allen White as the boss and directed by Scott Cooper. That film isn’t a cradle-to-the-grave biopic, but rather about the crisis that led Springsteen to sequestering himself in a room to write his incredible album “Nebraska.”
DiCaprio will next be seen in Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another, which bows on September 26. Both Johnson and Blunt’s next project is Benny Safdie’s The Smashing Machine, which will debut later this year.
Featured image: L-r: BERLIN, GERMANY – FEBRUARY 20: (EDITORS NOTE: Image has been converted to black and white. Color version is available.) Martin Scorsese accepts the Honorary Golden Bear on stage at the Honorary Golden Bear Award Ceremony for Martin Scorsese during the 74th Berlinale International Film Festival Berlin at Berlinale Palast on February 20, 2024 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Andreas Rentz/Getty Images); LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 30: (EDITORS NOTE: Image has been converted to black and white) Leonardo DiCaprio attends the “Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood” UK Premiere at the Odeon Luxe Leicester Square on July 30, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images); Dwayne Johnson attends The World Premiere of Disneys “MOANA” at the El Capitan Theatre on Monday, November 14, 2016 in Hollywood, CA.; LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 13: (EDITORS NOTE: Image has been converted to black and white) Emily Blunt attends the “Oppenheimer” UK Premiere at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square on July 13, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images).
