Dwayne Johnson is teaming up with Oscar winners Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese for a new crime drama that explores organized crime in Hawaii. According to Deadline, the film chronicles the story of “an aspiring mob boss” who goes up against “rival crime factions to wrest control of the underworld of the Hawaiian islands.” Johnson would star as the ruthless mobster, with his character being likened to Frank Costello, the role played by Jack Nicholson in Scorsese’s The Departed. Scorsese would direct the picture, with Nick Bilton writing the script. In addition to DiCaprio, Emily Blunt is attached to headline a star-studded cast.

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Deadline notes that Johnson and Blunt were the ones who recruited Scorsese and DiCaprio to the project. While the film has emerged as a hot commodity in Hollywood, it remains in the earliest stages of development. There’s currently a bidding war to secure the rights, and it’s said Bilton won’t write the script until “this gets set up,” implying work will begin once the film has a distributor in place.

A different Scorsese/DiCaprio collaboration, the long-gestating The Devil in the White City, recently took a significant step forward when it found a home at 20th Century Studios. However, like this Hawaii mob film, The Devil in the White City doesn’t have a script, and it’s unknown when it would begin production. Scorsese was also developing a Frank Sinatra biopic starring DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence and a film about Jesus, but those projects have been either cancelled or delayed.

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Johnson and Blunt previously starred together in Jungle Cruise, which currently has a sequel in development. The two are also headlining Benny Safdie’s sports drama The Smashing Machine, which stars Johnson as real-life MMA fighter Mark Kerr.

Scorsese is obviously renowned for his work with crime films, with Goodfellas, The Departed, and The Irishman just a few notable examples. This project would definitely be within his wheelhouse, and the Hawaii setting would help it stand out from his previous offerings. The Irishman saw Scorsese reflecting on his own filmmaking legacy and seemed to operate as a capper on his time in the mob genre, but this new project would give him a fresh sandbox to play in. It’ll be exciting to see him tackle well-worn themes through a different lens, examining the ties Johnson’s mobster has to the Hawaiian community and his thirst for greater power. The true story the film is based on is described as “the last great American mob saga,” so there’ll be lots of rich material to mine from this tale.

A Scorsese collaboration would continue a recent shift in Johnson’s film choices. Known more for his action movies (which have earned mixed reviews), he’s seemingly looking to challenge himself as an actor by teaming up with auteur directors. The Smashing Machine is an exciting proposition since it marks a change of pace for Johnson, as it’s a more dramatic role than he’s played before. Scorsese frequently gets awards-worthy performances out of his actors, and it would be fun to see Johnson find himself in the Oscar race for playing a ruthless and charismatic kingpin.