Martin Scorsese & Kenneth Branagh Have Had “Informal Conversations” About A ‘Macbeth’ Movie

There is already one "Macbeth" coming this year — you know, the adaptation with Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard that’s on our list of the 100 Most Anticipated Films Of 2015 — but there’s always room for another version of the Bard’s play, and certainly, if this happens, we’d happily sign on. 

Baz Bamigboye reports that Martin Scorsese and Kenneth Branaugh have had "informal conversations" about Scorsese making a movie based on Branagh’s Manchester International Festival production of "Macbeth." First playing the fest in 2013, it hopped over to New York City last summer, and Scorsese was apparently quite taken with it. The trick of this particular version is that the audience was brought right into the action, sitting literally inches away from the battles, speeches and more, making for a truly immersive experience. So one could see what would be attractive from a filmmaking standpoint to try and bring movie audiences that same sense of closeness. It would also be something new for the director, who over a career of doing everything from gangster flicks to period romance to family films, has never taken on Shakespeare.

Now again, this is all at the spitballing stage, and if it happens is still a long way off. Scorsese has just started production on his next film, "Silence," which is due in 2016, and as always, has a variety of television and documentary projects cooking. Meanwhile, Branagh is putting the finishing touches on "Cinderella" and has a handful of theater projects in the works.

So, we’ll see where this goes but let’s hope those talks start getting more real soon.