As Martin Scorsese toils away in the editing room in anticipation for this fall’s The Wolf of Wall Street, the director is already gathering his cast and crew for his follow-up, the long-gestating period drama Silence. Adapted from Shusaku Endo’s novel, the project has been rumored for around the last twenty years, but next summer he will finally make it.
According to Variety, we now have our first two confirmed cast members as Andrew Garfield will jump out of his suit for The Amazing Spider-Man and take the lead role here, while Ken Watanabe has also been added. Garfield will be portraying the character of Father Rodrigues, “a 17th-century Portuguese Jesuit who travels to Japan with a fellow priest amid rumors that Rodrigues’ mentor has abandoned the Church,” while Watanabe is their interpreter.
Scorsese also opened up about the intended demographic for the film, as it will mostly be in Japanese and “is meant for a smaller audience” than some of his recent films. He adds, “Then again, it’s a thriller. Thriller meaning they are undercover. I’m interested in this, whether it’s undercover priests or undercover cops.” There’s also word that Robbie Robertson will re-team with the director to provide the soundtrack, but there’s no confirmation yet.
Production kicks off next June in Taiwan, while The Wolf of Wall Street lands in November.
What do you think of Garfield leading a Scorsese film?