Just because Leonardo DiCaprio doesn’t show up in a new movie every year doesn’t mean there isn’t frequent news about his potential future film exploits. After all, an actor like DiCaprio, the rare modern movie star, is bound to top the acting wish-lists of many studios and producers. It’s inevitable that DiCaprio’s name would surface a lot for projects that were in the earliest stages of development. There’s also the slew of finished movies that were once set to star The Killers of the Flower Moon lead, but ended up going with different actors for a variety of reasons. Productions ranging from Nightmare Alley to Richard Jewell to Joker are just a few of the modern-day high-profile movies that were once set to star Leonardo DiCaprio.

However, there’s one particularly enticing-sounding movie announced in 2021 that would’ve starred DiCaprio that never got off the ground in any form. That movie was none other than a feature chronicling the life of the infamous cult leader Jim Jones, a man responsible for running his own isolated community and, more importantly, countless deaths. (Where "drinking the Kool-Aid" comes from.) It’s just the kind of grim historical figure DiCaprio has played in his career, so why hasn't this Jim Jones movie gained any traction?

When Did Discussions About Leonardo DiCaprio's Jim Jones Movie Start?

The saga of the Leonardo DiCaprio Jim Jones movie began in November 2021, when MGM plunked down a hefty sum well north of $1 million for a screenplay penned by Scott Rosenberg. There was no word on who would direct the movie at this stage, but DiCaprio was already signed on as a producer and was in deep discussions to take on the role of Jones. There was also little indication of how much or how little of the life of Jim Jones would be put to the screen, though reportedly the script was incredibly far along at this stage of production. With any luck, this movie would’ve been able to move quickly through production, especially since it fit the model of MGM at this time to a tee.

MGM had struggled throughout most of the 21st century with endless cash problems before finally filing for bankruptcy in 2010. In the wake of that momentous event, MGM became a production company and co-financier largely focused on remaking its older movies, like Poltergeist and Death Wish. However, in January 2020, Michael De Luca was hired to serve as the head of MGM (Pamela Abdy would join him in a leadership position at the studio shortly afterward). It was a massive get that was quickly followed up by MGM securing new movies from acclaimed filmmakers like Phil Lord & Chris Miller, Sarah Polley, and Paul Thomas Anderson. MGM wasn’t just coming back to life, it was roaring with newfound vibrancy.

This rebrand of MGM worked successfully in some ways, including scoring the studio’s first Best Picture Oscar nomination in over 30 years with Licorice Pizza. In an ideal world, a DiCaprio Jim Jones movie would’ve been a top priority for MGM and seen as the perfect next step to solidifying the studio as a major auteur-driven player for audiences. However, six months before MGM scooped up that Jim Jones movie screenplay, a major event befell this longstanding institution. Amazon made a massive $8.5 billion bid for MGM, which would be completed in March 2022. With this massive development, everything at MGM was about to change, including every project in its pipeline.

Studio Changes and DiCaprio's Busy Schedule Got in the Way

In the wake of Amazon completing its merger with MGM, total chaos consumed MGM and what its future would look like. De Luca and Abdy departed from the studio a month after the merger closed while few concrete answers were offered up from Amazon brass on what MGM would look like going forward. As a new age for MGM began to dawn, projects in development began to languish. After all, the new regime in charge of this studio wanted to prioritize new movies that they’d created, not emphasize projects that were a priority for the “old MGM.” One of those projects was the Leonardo DiCaprio Jim Jones movie, which failed to garner any further momentum after the initial announcement that it was in the works.

There would be no splashy news pieces about major auteurs contending for the chance to helm this project, nor a deluge of interviews with Leonardo DiCaprio about his creative process for getting into the mind of Jim Jones. Instead, this proposed movie fell to the wayside as Amazon opted to shift MGM in a different direction than the auteur-driven approach emphasized by De Luca and Abdy. It didn’t help that the notoriously choosy DiCaprio was keeping busy with other movies. After spending 2021 shooting Killers of the Flower Moon, DiCaprio has shifted his focus to other projects like reuniting with Scorsese yet again for The Wager and potentially headlining the next movie from Paul Thomas Anderson. There’s been little time in Leonardo DiCaprio’s schedule for other movies, especially projects like this Jim Jones movie that never secured the involvement of a director near and dear to DiCaprio’s heart.

It didn’t help that, in just the two years since the Jim Jones movie was announced, there’s been a deluge of true crime documentaries, animated sitcoms, thrillers, and other pop culture properties focusing on the horrors of cults. These productions have often taken great cue from the horrors at Jonestown, arguably the most famous of all cults that ended in grisly deaths. This avalanche of productions may have forced the people behind this proposed Jim Jones movie to ponder what exactly this project would bring to the table. Could even a movie focused on the most infamous of cult leaders stand out in a marketplace saturated with cult-oriented properties? If that question couldn’t have been answered, then it’s no wonder the Jim Jones movie perished.

Will We Ever See Leonardo DiCaprio's Cult Leader Movie?

The Jim Jones movie starring Leonard DiCaprio appears to be dead in the ground, and it’s doubtful Amazon MGM Studios (the new incarnation of MGM) will be reviving it anytime soon. At least the folks behind this production can be comforted by knowing that they’re far from alone in being a prospective Leonardo DiCaprio star vehicle that never got off the ground. This actor attached himself to a string of movies (some that would go on to be realized, others that would languish in development Hell) that fascinate the mind in wondering what they would’ve looked like with DiCaprio in the lead role. It’s rarely healthy to focus on what could’ve been, but cinematic “what if?” scenarios like the Leonardo DiCaprio Jim Jones movie are bound to captivate the minds of movie geeks for years to come. Hey, maybe it'll still happen.

The Big Picture

• Leonardo DiCaprio's potential Jim Jones movie, chronicling the life of the cult leader, failed to gain traction and is unlikely to be revived by Amazon MGM Studios.
• The project faced obstacles including MGM's merger with Amazon, changes in leadership, and DiCaprio's busy schedule with other films.
• The saturated market of cult-related content may have also raised questions about the project's uniqueness and marketability. However, the possibility of the movie still happening remains.