Fresh from the Cannes Film Festival, where he presented his latest film Killers of the Flower Moon, Martin Scorsese traveled to the Vatican this Saturday, where he met Pope Francis. The director took advantage of this trip to Italy to announce that he was working on a new project based on the story of the life of Jesus, reports Variety. Martin Scorsese's religious leanings are well known, including directing the 1988 film The Last Temptation of Christ.
"I responded to the pope's call for artists in the only way I know how: by imagining and writing a script for a film about Jesus," he announced during a conference at the Vatican. "And I'm about to start directing it," he added, hinting that it could be his next film.
The director cited his admiration for The Gospel According to Saint Matthew by Pier Paolo Pasolini, regarding its cinematic references.
Martin Scorsese's manager, Rick Yorn, however, did not immediately confirm this new project. After this visit to the Vatican, the director must continue his Italian tour in Rome where he will attend a series of screenings of his films, followed by an intervention in front of film students on Tuesday. He will then travel to Bologna, where he will be a guest at the Cineteca di Bologna.
