Get ready for a double-helping of Robert De Niro, as the acclaimed actor is returning to the gangster genre by portraying two roles in Warner Bros.‘ upcoming film The Alto Knights. Ahead of the film’s release this March, Empire Magazine has released a new photo from the project that shows off De Niro back doing what made him famous: beaten and bloody, facing off against a criminal underworld.
The new image shows De Niro, blood running down his face, laying on the floor. Unique in his acting career, De Niro will take on the role of mob bosses Frank Costello and Vito Genovese, giving him a rare chance to act opposite himself in a film. The project will be based on the real-life escapades of both men. The pair were the heads of New York City’s two most powerful mob families. The film will follow the attempted assassination of Costello by Genovese. After the hit fails, it will set in motion a series of events that will change the city’s gangster landscape.
“The idea of playing the two different characters was intriguing to me,” De Niro told Empire. “They’re like two different sides of the same coin. One is more rational, more diplomatic. That’s the Costello character. The Genovese character is more erratic, more impulsive.” It seems from De Niro‘s hints that the two gangsters, while being portrayed by one man in the film, will have very different paths. Director Barry Levinson added:
“As kids, they were very much the same. Two guys were almost one, then they suddenly not only divide, but ultimately become enemies.”
De Niro Made His Name in Gangster Films
De Niro hasn’t been in a gangster film in a while, but it is a return to form for the actor, who made his name in the genre. His role as a young Vito Corleone in The Godfather Part II helped catapult him to mainstream stardom (alongside other films like Raging Bull and Taxi Driver). De Niro is also widely known for his role in other gangster films; he took on the mantra of the infamous Al Capone in The Untouchables, and also had major roles in Goodfellas, Casino, and more recently, The Irishman.
The Alto Knights also stars Debra Messing, Cosmo Jarvis, Michael Rispoli, and more. De Niro and director Barry Levinson previously worked together in the Bernie Madoff biopic The Wizard of Lies. Levinson directed the film from a script by Goodfellas screenwriter Nicholas Pileggi. Levinson also produced the film with Irwin Winkler, Charles Winkler, and David Winkler for Winkler Films alongside Jason Sokoloff.
The Alto Knights will be released in theaters on March 21, 2025.
via Collider