A first look has been revealed of Star Wars and Moon Knight star Oscar Isaac in the exciting upcoming historical crime thriller In the Hand of Dante (or just Hand of Dante). This new movie from director Julian Schnabel will follow a handwritten copy of Dante’s “The Divine Comedy,” as it pᴀsses through many ambitious hands.

Based on the book of the same name by Nick Tosches, In the Hand of Dante depicts two timelines, one focusing on Dante Alighieri himself and the other on a fictionalized Tosches when he is tasked with verifying the manuscript in the modern day. The adaptation also stars Gerard Butler, Jason Momoa, Al Pacino, Gal Gadot, and John Malkovich.

Isaac will be playing the dual role of both Dante in the past and Tosches in the present. Via X, a promotional image for the 82nd Venice International Film Festival of Oscar Isaac as Dante has been shared. Isaac portrays the Inferno poet as seemingly nervously walking up stone steps along a coastal location. Check out the image below:

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What This Means For Hand Of Dante & Oscar Isaac

2025 Is Shaping Up To Be An Exciting Year For Isaac

In the Hand of Dante‘s debut is coming soon, as it will first be shown at the Venice Film Festival, which is scheduled for Aug. 27 to Sept. 6, 2025. Given the story’s subject matter’s dependence on Italian history and culture, this is a fitting place for the film to premiere.

The team behind the movie is slowly but surely generating hype and intrigue for it, releasing only the minimal image of the famed poet himself, whose mythos is arguably the backbone of the plot. Hand of Dante could still be poorly received at Venice, but the star-studded cast playing a variety of fascinating characters is likely to be fantastic either way.

Meanwhile, Oscar Isaac also has Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein coming out later this year, making Dante/Tosches only one performance for him of a legendary literary figure. His casting in both movies speaks to his ability to portray such lofty characters, and how we could still see his career reach new heights.

Our Take On The First Image Of Oscar Isaac In Hand Of Dante

Which Oscar Isaac Performance Will Be The Winner Of 2025?

Isaac will be playing the тιтular doctor in Frankenstein, alongside Jacob Elordi as the monster, with Mia Goth, Ralph Ineson, Charles Dance, and Christoph Waltz also joining the cast. Depending on how both movies are received by critics, this could be a career-defining year for Isaac, leading to inevitable comparisons between the two performances.

As complex and terrifying as the long-time-in-the-making Frankenstein is sure to be, In the Hand of Dante is likely to be more understated, as well as logistically complicated, with Oscar Isaac taking on a dual role. Hopefully, the release of both movies within months of each other will give us all something to think about when it comes to these classic literary texts.

Source: X