After many rumors and even talk from the director himself, some were unsure that Martin Scorsese‘s Silence would make it to theaters by this calendar year. Thankfully, those fears can now be put to rest as we have the most promising news imaginable this awards season. Paramount has officially set a December 23 limited release for the director’s adaptation of Shusako Endo’s novel, which as of late summer, clocked in at over three hours.
Silence follows the story of two Jesuit priests in the seventeenth century who venture to Japan amid rumors that their mentor has abandoned the Church, the cast includes Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver, Liam Neeson, Tadanobu Asano, and Ciarán Hinds.
Following its limited late-December bow, Paramount also noted the film will expand wide in January, but they have yet to set a specific date. In terms of competition, A Monster Calls will also be landing in limited release on December 23, while Assassin’s Creed, Passengers, and Sing open two days prior in wide release. Meanwhile, Paramount will be quite busy this fall as they also have Arrival, Allied, and Fences alongside Silence, all set to hit theaters throughout November and December.
Check out the full press release below:
HOLLYWOOD, CA (September 26, 2016) – Paramount Pictures announced today that it, in association with Fabrica de Cine and Ai Films, will open Martin Scorsese’s highly anticipated film “SILENCE” in limited release on December 23, followed by a wide release in January 2017.
Scorsese, who worked closely with Fabrica de Cine’s Gaston Pavlovich on the making of the film, wrote the screenplay with Jay Cocks (“GANGS OF NEW YORK”), based on the book “Silence” by Shusaku Endo. The film is produced by Scorsese and Emma Tillinger Koskoff “(THE WOLF OF WALL STREET”), along with Randall Emmett (“LONE SURVIVOR”), Barbara Defina (“GOODFELLAS”), Vittorio Cecchi Gori (“IL POSTINO”), Irwin Winkler (“CREED”). Producer Gaston Pavlovich’s company Fabrica de Cine also provided the lead financing for the picture, alongside Executive Producer Dale A. Brown of Sharpsword Films.
“SILENCE” stars Andrew Garfield (“THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN”), Adam Driver (“STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS”), Liam Neeson (“TAKEN”), Tadanobu Asano (“THOR”), Issey Ogata (“THE SUN”), Ciaran Hinds (“BLEED FOR THIS”), Yosuke Kubozuka (“GO”), and Yoshi Oida (“THE PILLOW BOOK”).