Martin Scorsese has added another gangster to his ranks in The Irishman. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Ray Romano has been added to the star-studded cast that already includes Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Harvey Keitel, Bobby Cannavale, and Joe Pesci in various stages of negotiation. Netflix is flipping the bill on Scorsese’s latest gangster epic, reportedly laying down a whopping $100 million on the project.
The Irishman will tell the story of Frank Sheeran, based on a novel by Charles Brandt. Sheeran, to be portrayed by De Niro, was a tough Irish hitman responsible for over 25 mob murders, including the infamous teamster and mob boss Jimmy Hoffa (Pacino). Romano will be playing Bill Bufalino, a lawyer for the teamsters with connections to the mob.
With such an exceptionally large budget, it isn’t any wonder that this film will unite some serious Scorsese legends. Most of that budget as well will be going toward the VFX Scorsese plans to use in portraying Sheeran at various stages of life — meaning, we’ll be seeing De Niro re-imagined in his twenties.
This will be Romano’s second time working with Scorsese after starring in his executive produced television series Vinyl (along with Cannavale). As for this year, Romano seems to be on quite a roll. Audiences can currently see him in the critically praised romantic comedy The Big Sick, which has overtaken the indie box office for several weeks now.
Production is slated to begin on the project in August, with a limited release planned for sometime in 2018, followed by a wide release on Netflix’s streaming platform.
Leave a Comment