It's too early to start really digging in to the 2014 Oscar race so it's definitely way too soon to be looking ahead to 2015's field. But if one were to hazard a guess at two potential contenders for next year they would be Martin Scorsese's Silence, and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's The Revenant. And apparently the studios agree because both films are set to get release dates that put them right in the thick of the race.
Paramount is on the verge of inking a deal to distribute Scorsese's long-developing adaptation of Silence for release in November 2015. Based on the Shusaku Endo novel about two Jesuit priests in 17th century Japan as they attempt to spread Christianity and find their mentor, the film will star Andrew Garfield, Liam Neeson, Ken Watanabe, and Adam Driver. Filming is due to begin later this year. [Deadline]
And then there's Inarritu's film, The Revenant, a revenge thriller that will be considerably more than that with Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy starring. Now that some financial hang-ups have been resolved (thanks to Megan Ellison and Annapurna Pictures), the film is set to shoot this October and hit theaters on Christmas Day 2015. That puts it up against some heavyweight competition in Mission: Impossible 5 and Joy, the Miracle Mop film reuniting David O. Russell and Jennifer Lawrence. Wow. Lots of amazing options next year. [BoxOfficeMojo]
