Martin Scorsese’s Silence Gets December Release Date

With the film festival season well under way, it was starting to look like the awards season picture was settling down. Many of the year’s major releases have already screened, but there’s a few we have yet to hear from. One of the big question marks came from veteran director Martin Scorsese. The director’s new film, Silence, is now set to debut on Dec. 23, which will give it a qualifying run for Oscar consideration.

Paramount announced that the film will debut in a limited capacity in December before going wide in January. This follows the trajectory taken last year by The Revenant, which, as you may recall, did pretty well. Silence’s release date will put it in a competitive holiday field that will also include films like Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Passengers and Assassin’s Creed.

Silence, adapted from the beloved 1966 novel of the same name by Shusaku Endo, tells the story of Jesuits who risk their lives to bring Christianity to Japan in the 17th century. The film stars Andrew Garfield, Liam Neeson, Adam Driver and Ciaran Hinds. Silence has been one of Scorsese’s dream projects throughout much of his career, and this final incarnation of the film is eagerly anticipated. The film clearly intends to be a major awards player, and with Scorsese in the director’s chair, those intentions may very well pay off.