Martin Scorsese to revive Frank Sinatra biopic starring Leonardo DiCaprio

American director and filmmaker Martin Scorsese is reportedly gearing up to revive his long-delayed Frank Sinatra biopic alongside frequent collaborator and starring actor Leonardo DiCaprio.

Filming for the Sinatra project is set to take place after the conclusion of Scorsese’s ongoing screen adaptation of Shūsaku Endō’s novel A Life of Jesus, according to Variety. Set primarily in the present day, the film will “focus on Jesus’s core teachings in a way that explores the principles but doesn’t proselytise,” Scorsese explained.

“I’m trying to find a new way to make it more accessible and take away the negative onus of what has been associated with organized religion,” the director added.

The Sinatra project, which has been in the works since 2011, was officially scrapped in 2016 after tensions arose between Scorsese and the late singer’s estate. “Certain things are very difficult for a family, and I totally understand,” Scorsese said during the promotional tour for his 2016 drama Silence, according to the Toronto Sun.

The director went on to explain that his desire to depict Sinatra’s darker sides on screen didn’t align with the estate’s vision for the biopic.“But, if they expect me to be doing it, they can’t hold back certain things. The problem is that the man was so complex. Everybody is so complex — but Sinatra in particular.”

Now, ready to give the project a second life, Scorsese plans to relaunch the film with American stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence at the helm. However, the singer’s daughter, Tina Sinatra, who runs her late father’s estate, has yet to sign off on the project, according to Variety.