Killers of the Flower Moon trailer is finally here. Apple TV has dropped the first footage from director Martin Scorsese’s upcoming Western, marking his seventh collaboration with Leonardo DiCaprio. The film is said to be a grim take on the real-life mystery surrounding the murders of members the Osage tribe in Oklahoma in the early 1920s. Based on the book ‘Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI’ by David Grann, it is Apple’s most expensive film to date, carrying a production budget of $200 million (about Rs. 1,655 crore).
The trailer for Killers of the Flower Moon opens with angelic visuals of some native Osage tribe members celebrating the discovery of oil deposits beneath their land, as Ernest Burkhart (DiCaprio) finds his way into Oklahoma. “The Osage took their name from Missouri and Osage Rivers,” he reads, trying to understand the tribe’s history. We’re then introduced to Mollie (Lily Gladstone), one of the natives whom Ernest decides to marry, presumably after being smitten by her while offering her a lift around town. “Move, said the great white father,” the voiceover continues, as William Hale (Robert De Niro) trudges along the lands — clever wordplay and editing that seems to suggest the idea of white genocide against native people. William also happens to be Ernest’s uncle in this story, the villainous cattle rancher looking to profit off the oil.
“There are many, so many hungry wolves,” Ernest continues, as more and more Caucasian men and women arrive on Osage land. The Killers of the Flower Moon trailer then cuts to show bodies of Osage natives being carried away, following their unexplained murders, kickstarting a chilling FBI investigation led by Tom White (Jesse Plemons). As Ernest continues reading the story, it seems as though he comes to the realisation that there’s a larger conspiracy behind those killings, with him suspecting Uncle William of organising contract hits. The case is a rather emotional affair for Ernest as well, who struggles with conflicting loyalties with his Osage wife and powerful uncle.
The Killers of the Flower Moon trailer soon devolves into a cold montage of gunfires, erupting flames, and even more killings. Within them, there are some quick glimpses at the court proceedings as well, with lawyer W. S. Hamilton (Brendan Fraser) attempting to rid William of any charges and prove his innocence on the matter. On the opposite end, John Lithgow’s (Interstellar) Prosecutor Leaward is on a mission to convict William of the murder. The trailer ends with a shot of several members of William’s team waiting inside a dark room. “Can you find the wolves in this picture?”, Ernest’s voice utters — the idea being that they’re all greedy wolves.
Killers of the Flower Moon is slated to release October 6 in select theatres, followed by a wider release on October 20. Currently, there is no word on whether it will arrive in Indian theatres, though an Apple TV+ release is expected later.
