We had reported early last year that filmmaker Martin Scorsese would play Italian poet Dante Alighieri's mentor in Julian Schnabel's In the Hand of Dante. The makers dropped the first look at his character.

In The Hand Of Dante is premiering at the Venice Film Festival later this month. The film is about a scholar who steals a valuable manuscript, defying the New York mafia.

Scorsese meanwhile last made Killers of the Flower Moon. His documentary Mr Scorsese, directed by Rebecca Miller, is streaming on Apple from October 17.

The film also stars Oscar Isaac, Al Pacino, Gal Gadot, Jason Momoa, Gerard Butler, Louis Cancelmi, Franco Nero and John Malkovich.

Schnabel's renowned works include At Eternity's Gate, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly and Basquiat.

The film is produced in the Hand of Dante by DreamCrew Entertainment, MeMo Films, TWIN Productions and Artofficial Productions.