Martin Scorsese May Have Finally Found His Next Film: What Happens at Night with Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence

By Audrey Weisburd  |  September 19, 2025 | 1:29pm
Movies News martin scorcese
Martin Scorsese May Have Finally Found His Next Film: What Happens at Night with Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence

After months of rumors swirling around everything from a Sinatra biopic to a long-gestating Devil in the White City adaptation, Martin Scorsese has reportedly committed to direct What Happens at Night, a ghostly story based on Peter Cameron’s 2020 novel.

DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence are set to star as a married couple who travel to a desolate European town to adopt a child. Once checked into a cavernous hotel, they’re met with a carousel of unsettling characters while their own grip on reality, marriage, and mortality begins to blur. Think The Shining by way of Shutter Island, with Patrick Marber (Closer, Notes on a Scandal) adapting the script.

Apple Original Films is in talks to finance and produce alongside Studiocanal, which has been developing the project since 2023. A January start date is reportedly on the table. The announcement comes after a flurry of “next Scorsese” speculation. Beyond the Sinatra picture (DiCaprio as Frank, Lawrence as Ava Gardner), there were whispers of a Hawaiian crime drama with Dwayne Johnson, a Gilead adaptation, and the oft-delayed Life of Jesus. Each seemed plausible, each is now in limbo. But this time, the pieces appear to be snapping into place, with three Oscar winners (Scorsese, DiCaprio, Lawrence) anchoring the project. One wonders if Scorsese sees DiCaprio as an actor he can fit into seemingly any script.

Lawrence, fresh off Lynne Ramsay’s Die, My Love, which premiered at Cannes and will roll out via MUBI in November, has circled a handful of indie projects but lands here opposite DiCaprio for what would be their first collaboration. For DiCaprio, it’s another round with the filmmaker who’s arguably defined his career. This would mark their seventh feature together.

At 82, Martin Scorsese has nothing left to prove, but everything he touches still carries an electricity. Scorsese’s films have always been haunted, by guilt, faith, or  history. This one just happens to have ghosts built in. If What Happens at Night is indeed next, it’s shaping up to be a haunting addition, and proof that Scorsese is still chasing the thrill of the unknown.

 

 
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