A new trailer for Martin Scorsese's hotly anticipated feature, Killers of the Flower Moon was unveiled yesterday by Apple Original Films.

Based on David Grann's book of the same name, Killers of the Flower Moon is set in 1920s Oklahoma and depicts the real-life systematic murders of members of the Osage Nation by white locals seeking to exploit the oil-rich lands inhabited by the natives, an event known as The Reign of Terror. The horrific murders were the FBI's first homicide investigation.

The third and final trailer for the film, which is set to release on October 20th, foreshadows the brutality of the terrifying string of murders committed by Ernest Burkhart, played by a grizzled Leonardo DiCaprio.

Killers of the Flower Moon will be the 80-year old auteur's 26th feature length narrative, preceding 2019's The Irishman and is set to be his longest, at a runtime of almost four hours. Premiering at the 76th Cannes Film Festival, the western crime epic opened to widespread acclaim, receiving a 9-minute standing ovation at the festival.

Appearing on the cover of Time, Scorsese opened up in a new interview, admitting to reworking the film's screenplay, recasting lead roles and overhauling the script, following a realisation that he was “making a movie about all the white guys."

Shifting the film's focus away from the FBI, the director decided instead to evoke the dark colonial tragedy through the paradoxical romance between violent murderer Ernest Burkhart and member of the Osage Nation, Mollie Kyle (Lily Gladstone).

The film also stars Jesse Plemons as BOI agent, Tom White, as well as frequent Scorsese collaborator, Robert De Niro as Burkhart's uncle, William Hale, who first conceives of the sinister murder plot.

In the interview, Scorsese praised the performance of female lead, Lily Gladstone, who is of Blackfeet and Nimíipuu heritage. In her, the filmmaker says, there’s “a fierceness and serenity at the same time. And it’s encased in this intelligence—the eyes say it all.”

Check out the new trailer below:

Killers of the Flower Moon will premiere in Irish cinemas on October 20th.