Award-winning director Martin Scorsese is often known for his violent films and yet this year he is directing a new film about Jesus Christ. 

During the summer of 2023, Scorsese met with Pope Francis during a cinematic event in Italy and the meeting inspired him to make his next film about Jesus. 

In the past, he's directed a few films with faith content including the controversial The Last Temptation of Christ in 1988 and then again in 2016 with Silence. 

This new film is based on Shūsaku Endō’s 1978 book A Life of Jesus. 

"I’m trying to find a new way to make it more accessible and take away the negative onus of what has been associated with organized religion," Scorsese told the Los Angeles Times. 

The director is hoping to give the film a timeless feel and keep the focus on Jesus' core teaching rather than proselytizing. 

"Right now, ‘religion,’ you say that word, and everyone is up in arms because it’s failed in so many ways," says Scorsese. "But that doesn’t mean necessarily that the initial impulse was wrong. Let’s get back. Let’s think about it. You may reject it. But it might make a difference in how you live your life — even in rejecting it. Don’t dismiss it offhand. That’s all I’m talking about. And I’m saying that as a person who’s going to be 81 in a couple of days."

Scorsese shared that the script is written and the shooting will begin later this year. 

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