Martin Scorsese's The Life of Jesus and Frank Sinatra biopic postponed

Martin Scorsese's 'The Life of Jesus' and Frank Sinatra biopic have been postponed.

The legendary filmmaker had been planning to shoot the two films back-to-back this year but both flicks have now been put on hold.

'The Life of Jesus' had been expected to go into production first and an insider has emphasised to Variety that the movie is still in development.

No cast members have been announced but Scorsese is said to be financing the project independently – just as he did with his 2016 epic 'Silence'.

The picture is based on Shusaku Endo's 1973 novel and the 'Goodfellas' helmer had been hoping to film in Israel, Italy and Egypt.

Scorsese had revealed that the movie would only last 80 minutes and is centred on the principles of Jesus' core teachings.

He said: "Right now, 'religion', you say that word and everyone is up in arms because it's failed in some ways.

"But that doesn't mean necessarily that the initial impulse was wrong. Let's get back. Let's just think about it. You may reject it. But it might make a difference in how you live your life – even in rejecting it. Don't dismiss it offhand. That's all I'm talking about."

Meanwhile, those involved in the Sinatra biopic were told last month that the scheduled November start date had been cancelled with no new information announced.

Scorsese, 81, has planned to bring the film about the 'My Way' singer to the big screen for 15 years and it was revealed earlier this year that he had cast frequent collaborator Leonardo DiCaprio as the crooner and Jennifer Lawrence as his second wife – the actress Ava Gardner.

However, it was suggested that the project could hit a stumbling block as the singer's daughter Tina Sinatra controls his estate and had not given her blessing to the film.

It was Gardner who broke up Sinatra's marriage to Tina's mother Nancy Barbato.