Yahoo Movies First trailer for Martin Scorsese's 'The Irishman' reveals a de-aged Robert De Niro
The last time that Robert De Niro graced the screen in a Martin Scorsese picture was almost 25 years ago with 1995’s Casino. After a quarter-century wait, the duo are reunited in the new crime drama The Irishman — and De Niro still looks like his Casino-era self.
No, Scorsese hasn’t cracked the secret to time travel; instead, he’s betting the bank on the digital de-aging technology that Marvel Studios has used to introduce younger versions of characters like Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) into the the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Originally filmed in 2017, the movie has spent over a year in post-production as Scorsese and the visual effects team wrestled with the costly de-aging process.
Read more: How Kurt Russell was de-aged for GOTG V2
And now the first trailer for The Irishman — which will have its world premiere at the New York Film Festival before arriving on Netflix and in cinemas later this autumn — gives us our first clear view of what the “young” De Niro will look like, and it’s definitely making waves on Twitter. (Watch the trailer above.)
I'm big fan of the original animated The Irishman but the CG here is a bold choice. https://t.co/kOGLgjqOFm
— Matt Patches (@misterpatches) July 31, 2019
Cartoon face slightly younger Robert De Niro #bobinthecity #TheIrishman pic.twitter.com/7ahDPeNYew
— Bob Biggerstaff (@bob_biggerstaff) July 31, 2019
The footage for THE IRISHMAN looks weird. pic.twitter.com/YAXg0jgRvp
— Jose Fernando Rodriguez (@theJoFer) July 31, 2019
The de-aging technology in The Irishman looks stunning! pic.twitter.com/i7jEJC2Q0r
— Will Sloan, the 6ix Dad (@WillSloanEsq) July 31, 2019
Wow just watched the trailer for The Irishman and can someone tell me Robert De Niro's skincare routine?
— C.J. Prince (@cj_prin) July 31, 2019
The Irishman trailer proves that de-aging works, and now no one under 45 will ever work again in this town
— Mark Ellis (@markellislive) July 31, 2019
new still released from Martin Scorsese’s THE IRISHMAN (2019) pic.twitter.com/LPqoRJakgI
— fka ☕ (@coopercooperco) July 31, 2019
THE IRISHMAN may have gone overboard with the de-aging pic.twitter.com/G3fZJ7m0s8
— C. Mason Wells (@cmasonwells) July 31, 2019
Based on Charles Brandt’s bestseller, I Heard You Paint Houses, The Irishman is a sprawling account of the life and times of Frank Sheeran (De Niro), a World War II veteran who parlayed his combat training into a career as a Mob-affiliated hitman under the guidance of Russell Bufalino (Joe Pesci, making his long-awaited return to the big screen).
Read more: Could Deepfakes be the future of VFX?
It’s Bufalino who passes Frank’s name along to another potential employer: controversial union leader, Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino). “I heard you paint houses,” Hoffa is said to have told Sheeran in their first-ever conversation — a line that’s repeated in the trailer — clearly implying that the only paint required would be blood.
In addition to the older (and younger) versions of De Niro, Pacino and Pesci, The Irishman’s star-studded supporting cast is populated by the likes of Ray Romano, Anna Paquin, Harvey Keitel and Jesse Plemons.
As penned by Oscar-winning screenwriter Steven Zallian, the narrative will shift back and forth in time, as the elderly Frank reflects on his long career “painting houses,” and the role he later claimed to have played in Hoffa’s still-unsolved 1975 disappearance. We hear this one may be an Oscar contender.
By Ethan Alter, Yahoo Entertainment
The Irishman premieres on Netflix and in select cinemas this autumn.
