Leonardo DiCaprio Attached To Star in Scorsese’s Adaptation of Marilynne Robinson’s Pulitzer Winning Novel ‘Home’
Martin Scorsese is teaming up with Apple Original Films again after “Killers of the Flower Moon.” His next project is “Home,” based on a novel by Marilynne Robinson. Scorsese will write, direct, and produce the movie. Leonardo DiCaprio, a frequent collaborator, will star in it. This marks their seventh film together, following hits like “The Departed” and “The Wolf of Wall Street.”
The story comes from Robinson’s Gilead series, set in the fictional town of Gilead, Iowa. It explores themes of faith and rural life. “Home” focuses on a family dealing with tough pasts. Glory Boughton returns to care for her dying father, a reverend.
Her brother Jack, the family’s troubled son, also comes back after 20 years away. Jack struggles with alcohol and a difficult history but remains his father’s favorite. The novel shows Jack trying to reconnect with his sister Glory and facing tension with his traditionalist father and godfather, John Ames.
“Glory Boughton has returned to Gilead to care for her dying father. Soon her brother, Jack—the prodigal son of the family, gone for twenty years—comes home too, looking for refuge and trying to make peace with a past littered with torment and pain,” reads the original summary from Chapters Indigo.
It adds, “A troubled boy from childhood, an alcoholic who cannot hold a job, Jack is one of the great characters in recent literature. He is perpetually at odds with his surroundings and with his traditionalist father, though he remains Reverend Boughton’s most beloved child. Brilliant, beguiling, lovable, and wayward, Jack forges an intense new bond with Glory and engages painfully with John Ames, his godfather, and namesake.”
Scorsese isn’t working alone. Todd Field, another acclaimed director, will help produce the film. Their production companies—Sikelia Productions for Scorsese and Appian Way Productions for DiCaprio—are behind it, along with LBI Entertainment, managed by Rick Yorn. Apple secured the deal through Ellen Levine of Trident Media Group and Susan Schulman of her literary agency.
“Home” is the second book in Robinson’s four-part Gilead series, which began with the Pulitzer Prize-winning “Gilead.” The other books are “Lila” and “Jack.” There’s no word yet on whether Apple plans to adapt the rest, though past reports suggest Field might direct “Gilead” and Kent Jones could helm “Jack.” For now, the focus is on “Home.”
Scorsese, a Catholic, often explores faith in his work, like in “The Last Temptation of Christ” and “Silence.” Robinson, a Congregationalist, also weaves her beliefs into her stories. “The Reverend Boughton’s hell-raising son, Jack, has come home after twenty years away.
Artful and devious in his youth, now an alcoholic carrying two decades worth of secrets, he is perpetually at odds with his traditionalist father, though he remains his most beloved child,” says a synopsis. “As Jack tries to make peace with his father, he begins to forge an intense bond with his sister Glory, herself returning home with a broken heart and turbulent past.”
No start date for production or release has been set. DiCaprio’s schedule is packed, with projects like Damien Chazelle’s next film and Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest. Scorsese also has other ideas in the works, like a Hawaii crime drama and a Frank Sinatra biopic. Still, “Home” promises a smaller, character-driven story compared to his recent large-scale films.
Apple’s commitment to the Gilead series is clear. “Apple Original Films will develop Marilynne Robinson’s Gilead novels, with Martin Scorsese attached to write, direct, and produce, alongside filmmaker Todd Field, following a deal brokered by Ellen Levine of Trident Media Group and Susan Schulman of the eponymous literary agency,” an announcement confirmed. Fans of Robinson’s writing and Scorsese’s films are eager for more updates.
