Throughout one of the most prolific and diverse careers in Hollywood history, Martin Scorsese has explored religion on two significant occasions. His 2016 film “Silence” took 30 years to make and was somewhat of a passion project, telling the story of two Portuguese Jesuit priests who travel to Japan in search of their missing mentor. But it’s arguably his 1988 film, “The Last Temptation of Christ,” that most moviegoers are more familiar with and which sounds closer to whatever the director has in-store for his upcoming Jesus-centered project.
That 1988 portrayal of the King of Kings as a fallible, very human figure proved controversial upon the film’s release for contradicting the widely accepted narrative of Jesus’ last days. “The Last Temptation,” with its vivid, often visceral depiction of its central character’s exploits and eventual persecution, could also be said to be the perfect answer to the Pope’s request for artists to “let us see Jesus,” which makes whatever Scorsese has planned for this next film all the more mysterious and intriguing.
For now, it looks as though we’ll have to wait to get any more details about the film. While in Italy, the director is said to be screening several of his own movies alongside others which have inspired his work. Hopefully some more news comes out of his ongoing tour, but for now it’s nice to know the veteran filmmaker isn’t calling actually calling it quits after all.