Well, that’s one way to avoid box office scrutiny: According to Deadline, movie man Martin Scorsese is taking on another TV project. Reportedly, he will executive produce a Gangs of New York show and direct the first two episodes. Like his 2002 film of the same name, this will be an adaptation of Herbert Asbury’s nonfiction book The Gangs of New York, which follows conflicts between rival New York City gangs in the 19th century. Don’t expect to see Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis, or Cameron Diaz reprising their roles, though — the show is said to center on a set of characters that weren’t in the movie. Playwright and TV writer Brett Leonard penned the new project, which Deadline reports will be shopped out to buyers later this month.
This isn’t Scorsese’s first attempt to bring Gangs of New York to TV. Back in 2013, Scorsese was working on a different Gangs of New York adaptation that would expand to include organized crime in other cities like Chicago and New Orleans. “This time and era of America’s history and heritage is rich with characters and stories that we could not fully explore in a two-hour film,†he said at the time. “A television series allows us the time and creative freedom to bring this colorful world, and all the implications it had and still does on our society, to life.†It might have taken nearly a decade, but it looks like he’s finally managed to get the gang(s) back together.