Martin Scorsese to make Grateful Dead biopic with Jonah Hill

Legendary Hollywood filmmaker Martin Scorsese is set to direct a biopic about the iconic rock band Grateful Dead. Jonah Hill will be playing the lead in it as the band's frontman Jerry Garcia.

Earlier in 2017, Scorsese had executive-produced a six-part documentary series about the Grateful Dead titled Long Strange Trip. Apart from that, he has also directed music documentaries like The Last Waltz (1978), George Harrison: Living in the Material World (2011), and Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story (2019).

The Grateful Dead biopic will have Scorsese as the producer as well. The Apple TV Plus project has Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski penning the screenplay.

The Grateful Dead is a hugely popular music band, which was formed in San Francisco's Bay area amid the rise of the psychedelic counterculture in the 60s. Along with Jerry Garcia, its founding members include Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Ron McKernan, and Bill Kreutzmann. Garcia's death in August 1995 brought an end to the band. They performed their final concert on July 9, 1995.

Surviving members of the band Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, and Bill Kreutzmann are part of the upcoming biopic as executive producers. Trixie Garcia, the daughter of Jerry Garcia, and the band's manager Bernie Cahill will also executive produce, along with Eric Eisner.

Additional producers include Jonah Hill's partner Matt Dines through their company Strong Baby and Rick Yorn via LBI Entertainment.

Meanwhile, Scorsese is busy working on Killers of the Flower Moon, a Western crime drama starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, and Jesse Plemons. It is not yet known when the filmmaker will start working on the Grateful Dead biopic.