Disney is closing in on a deal for Scorsese’s Hawaii-set crime drama starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Emily Blunt, and Dwayne Johnson

Disney wants to host Martin Scorsese's Hawaii-set crime thriller with stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Emily Blunt, and Dwayne Johnson. The post Disney is closing in on a deal for Scorsese’s Hawaii-set crime drama starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Emily Blunt, and Dwayne Johnson appeared first on JoBlo.

Mar 27, 2025 - 19:37

Disney is closing in on a deal for Scorsese’s Hawaii-set crime drama starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Emily Blunt, and Dwayne Johnson

Is today Leonardo DiCaprio Day? I ask because DiCaprio is at the center of another massive Hollywood headline after returning to YouTube to share the trailer for Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest film, One Battle After Another. According to reports, Disney is close to sealing a deal for Martin Scorsese‘s latest drama, with Leonardo DiCaprio, Emily Blunt, and Dwayne Johnson leading the cast. The untitled project, set in Hawaii, has the following description: Imagine Robert De Niro’s Goodfellas’ Jimmy the Gent character, but as a ruthless Hawaiian crime boss, also based on a real figure, who battled encroaching rivals for control of organized crime in Hawaii.

In Deadline‘s exclusive report, the outlet describes Scorsese’s latest project in vivid detail. The pitch, written by Nick Bilton, includes crime of all kinds, with shady characters operating a syndicate from outlandish places. It “focuses on a turbulent time on the island paradise when the aspiring mob boss battled elements like triads and U.S. military to wrest control. It was a bloody battle. The character is based on Wilford “Nappy” Pulawa, who led the largest organized crime syndicate on the Hawaiian Islands, The Company, in the 1970s. He ruled through a reputation for brutality and murder, terrain Scorsese covered in both Goodfellas and The Departed. The Company’s rackets included gambling, human trafficking, marijuana trafficking and labor corruption. Eventually charged with two murders, got 15 years for tax evasion in 1973, and he reputedly continued to run the syndicate from his cell in a federal prison before he was . In 1975, Nevada barred him for life from entering the state’s casinos. He continued to run the syndicate from federal prison before his release in 1984.”

Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese go together like Resolve Spray ‘n Wash and blood stains, collaborating on films like Gangs of New York, The Aviator, Shutter Island, The Departed, Killers of the Flower Moon, The Wolf of Wall Street, and more. It’s unsurprising to see them joining forces on another project, but if the chemistry ain’t broken, why add outside solutions? Emily Blunt’s casting is exciting, especially after her role as Kitty Oppenheimer in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer and part as Jody Moreno in the ode to stuntworkers action comedy The Fall Guy. Still, the most significant score is Dwayne Johnson, who could be looking at his most prestigious role with Scorsese’s latest thriller.

We expect to learn more about Disney’s deal with Scorsese for his Hawaii-set thriller shortly. In the meantime, what do you think about the cast? Let us know in the comments section below.

The post Disney is closing in on a deal for Scorsese’s Hawaii-set crime drama starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Emily Blunt, and Dwayne Johnson appeared first on JoBlo.