Draft:A Life of Jesus (film)

A Life of Jesus is an upcoming American epic biblical drama film directed by Martin Scorsese based on the 1973 Shūsaku Endō book of the same name.

Synopsis
While set largely in the present day, The Life of Jesus will focus on the teachings of Jesus Christ.

Background
Throughout his career, spiritual themes have been central to Scorsese’s work, most explicitly in his "trilogy" of religion-focused films: The Last Temptation of Christ, Kundun, and Silence. Released in 2016, Silence also marked Scorsese's first adaptation of Endō’s work as it was based on the novel of the same name.

Following the premiere of his 2023 film Killers of the Flower Moon at Cannes Film Festival, Scorsese and his wife travelled to the Global Aesthetics of Catholic Imagination conference in Rome. There, he met privately with Pope Francis and participated in an interview with Antonio Spadaro, ultimately announcing that he would direct a new film about Jesus Christ. Scorsese stated he was inspired by the pope's call for artists to uplift Christian principles in their work. Scorsese met with the pope again in January 2024.

Production
In a September 2023 Time 100 profile, Scorsese discussed the status his new Christ-focused film and stated that while he was unsure how he would approach the subject matter, he hoped to appear in the film as an actor.

Scorsese confirmed in a January 2024 interview with the Los Angeles Times that he had completed a script based on A Life of Jesus by Shūsaku Endō alongside filmmaker and writer Kent Jones and that he expected production to begin later that year. Later that month, Scorsese announced his intention to begin filming in late April.

In April 2024, Andrew Garfield and Miles Teller were eyed to join the film in undisclosed roles. Scorcese was looking to self finance the film, similarly to his previous Endō adaptation Silence. The film was set to begin production later that year in Israel, Egypt and Italy, although the ongoing genocide in Gaza could set this back.