Robert De Niro is set for a double role in the upcoming mob crime drama ‘Wise Guys’ at Warner Bros.
The film follows Italian American crime bosses Vito Genovese and Frank Costello, who ran their respective families during the 20th century. In 1957, Genovese tried (and failed) to assassinate Costello, who was ultimately injured and attempted to retire from the mafia. De Niro is expected to portray the two main characters.
Barry Levinson, the veteran filmmaker who is best known for ‘Rain Man’ is set to take the helm on the feature. De Niro and Levinson have previously teamed on ‘Wag the Dog,’ ‘Sleeper,’ the HBO series ‘The Wizard of Lies’ and ‘What Just Happened.’
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Nicholas Pileggi, the co-writer of Martin Scorsese’s crime epic ‘Goodfellas,’ which starred De Niro, is penning the screenplay. Irwin Winkler, a producer on ‘Goodfellas,’ will serve as a producer.
De Niro’s recent credits include ‘Joker’ for Warners as well as Scorsese’s ‘The Irishman,’ which he starred in and produced for Netflix. He reteamed with Scorsese once more for Apple’s ‘Killers of the Flower Moon,’ due out next year.
