Paramount Snags The Black Hand For Leonardo DiCaprio

It looks like Leonardo DiCaprio has found his next film, as Deadline is reporting that Paramount Pictures has acquired The Black Hand, which the actor will both star in and produce through his Appian Way banner. A search for a writer is now underway and Ashley Brucks and Gabby Canton will oversee the project for the studio.

For those unfamiliar with the source material, Stephan Talty’s novel of the same name follows an NYPD officer named Joe Petrosino, who “unflinchingly went after a ruthless gang that came out of Italy and into America (whose calling card was a black hand) which kidnapped people and then extorted money from their families. They were loathed by law-abiding Italian families who were frightened but nevertheless helped the cop behind the scenes when they could as the viciousness of the gang of thugs knew no boundaries.”

DiCaprio will step into the role of Petrosino and being no stranger to playing real-life characters, you can probably expect another stunning performance from the Oscar winner. From J. Edgar Hoover to Jordan Belfort, DiCaprio has brought to life many interesting people over the course of his career and The Black Hand promises to be another exciting mark on his filmography.

It’s not only DiCaprio’s involvement that has our attention though, as Talty is also the guy who wrote A Captain’s Duty, which was turned into the excellent Captain Phillips back in 2013. He’s penned a number of compelling novels over the years and those who’ve read The Black Hand will know that its amongst his best work. In other words, expect this one to be an awards contender.

A director hasn’t been chosen just yet, but given the subject matter, it’s not too much of a stretch to think that DiCaprio may be going after Martin Scorsese to helm. It seems like it’d be right up his alley and given that whenever the two work together the results are always stunning, we’ve no doubt that Paramount is probably trying to rope in the legendary director. Especially since they already have a very successful working relationship with him, one which recently gave us Silence.

We’ll keep you posted as The Black Hand continues to come together, but for now, be sure to let us know your early impressions of the project down below.