One of the most iconic Spider-Man actors may be tapped to play another major hero in pop culture: Jesus Christ.
Fresh off his10 Oscar nominationsforKillers of the Flower Moon, director Martin Scorsese already has his next two projects picked out and one is very unconventional.
Varietyreportedthat Scorsese is planning to direct an adaptation of Shūsaku Endō’s 1973 book Life of Jesus and a Frank Sinatra biopic, with both projects filming back to back.
While there’s no word on who would be playing Sinatra, Spider-Man star Andrew Garfield is being eyed for the Jesus project, though no one is sure if Garfield would be tapped to be play the son of God or one of his disciples.
Technically, Garfield would be the right age to play Jesus as many scholars believe he died between the ages of 33 to 38 and the actor is currently 40 years old.
Along with Garfield, Miles Teller has also been thrown around as possibly joining the cast but, again, it’s unclear what his role would be.
Endō’s novel is not structured as a traditional novel as hisgoalwas to “to make Jesus understandable in terms of the religious psychology of my non-Christian countrymen and thus to demonstrate that Jesus is not alien to their religious sensibilities,” so there’s a chance Scorsese will use it as a springboard to craft a narrative around Jesus himself or maybe non-believers who come into contact with him.
The directorconfirmedto the Los Angeles Times that the movie will be about 80 minutes long and his goal is to “take away the negative onus of what has been associated with organized religion.”
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Filming for the adaptation is set to begin later this year in Israel, Italy and Egypt, but shooting in Israel could be complicated due to the ongoing conflict with Gaza.
If you’re looking for something to watch while you wait for a new Scorsese flick, you can check outall the new releases premieringthis month.
Kayla Harrington was a TV & Movies Writer on Dexerto’s US team, specializing in The Boys, The Walking Dead, House of the Dragon, Marvel and Star Wars. She also has bylines at Mashable, BuzzFeed, and The Mary Sue.
