‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ Adds Jesse Plemons in a Leading Role

Jesse Plemons can currently be seen in a primary role in the award-winning film Judas and the Black Messiah, streaming now on HBO Max, and the actor shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Today it was announced that the actor will star in the leading role in Martin Scorsese’s new feature Killers of the Flower Moon, reuniting with the director after his supporting part in Scorsese’s 2019 picture The Irishman. 

Rumors had circulated lately that Plemons was initially in talks to star in Jordan Peele’s new feature, but had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts. It appears that those conflicts were with this, meaning that Plemons had perhaps the most enviable dilemma in the history of cinema between two of the most anticipated features imaginable. 

Plemons is taking on a part initially set for Leonardo DiCaprio, the role of Tom White, the lead FBI agent investigating a series of murders in 1920s Oklahoma within the Osage Nation. Scorsese is directing from a script by Eric Roth, adapted from a novel by David Grann.

DiCaprio shifted into a different part in the film, now playing a man named Ernest Burkhart, nephew of a powerful local rancher. That rancher will be played by none other than Robert De Niro, creating an all-star team of Scorsese veterans for a title that he has been vocal about wanting to make for some time now. 

While the three men have all worked with Scorsese before at least once (or many times), one new face being added to his canon is that of Lily Gladstone, who last week was announced to be starring in the role of Mollie Burkhart, an Osage married to DiCaprio’s character. With Gladstone and Plemons now added to the mix, this is looking to be another starry ensemble for Scorsese, with surely more big names to come soon filling out the supporting ensemble. 

Killers of the Flower Moon is set to shoot from May to late summer, and will be released next year from Apple Studios.