The Alto Knights trailer reveals Robert De Niro playing real competing mob bosses in Goodfellas writer Nicholas Pileggi’s new movie. Penned by Pileggi, who wrote the non-fiction book Wiseguy and adapted it alongside Martin Scorsese into Goodfellas (which also starred De Niro as a gangster), the upcoming Alto Knights is directed by Barry Levinson and stars De Niro in a dual role as the 1950s mob bosses Vito Genovese and Frank Costello. Alto Knights‘ cast also includes Debra Messing, Cosmo Jarvis, Kathrine Narducci, and Michael Rispoli in supporting roles.

Now, Warner Bros. Pictures has premiered the first official trailer for Alto Knights. The trailer features De Niro in a dual role as Vito Genovese and Frank Costello as they compete for control of New York during the 1950s. Once close allies, their friendship unravels due to simmering jealousies and a string of betrayals, leading the former to order a hit on the latter, who survives but is wounded in the attempt and ultimately decides to retire from the Mafia. Watch the trailer below:

What The Alto Knights Trailer Means For The Movie

Why Is Robert De Niro Playing Dual Roles?

The biggest takeaway from The Alto Knights trailer is Robert De Niro starring in dual roles as Vito Genovese and Frank Costello, which appears to be an inexplicable decision. In the 2015 film Legend, for instance, Tom Hardy starred in a dual role as the English gangsters Reggie and Ron Kray because they were identical twin brothers, so it made sense for the same actor to play both characters. Genovese and Costello weren’t related, and they didn’t even look very much alike, so it’s unclear why De Niro is playing them both in The Alto Knights.

Though the decision seems inexplicable now, perhaps the reasoning will become apparent at a later point. De Niro is certainly no stranger to mob movies, having starred in Martin Scorsese’s Mean Streets, Francis Ford Coppola​​​​​​’s The Godfather Part II, Scorsese’s Goodfellas, and more. De Niro and director Barry Levinson previously collaborated on Wag the Dog, Sleeper, The Wizard of Lies, and What Just Happened. Levinson also has some experience with mob movies, having directed 1991’s Bugsy, which also featured Frank Costello and Vito Genovese as characters, played by separate actors, of course.

Our Take On The Alto Knights Trailer

It Feels Like A Blast From The Past

The Alto Knights, a period mob movie fronted by two Hollywood veterans, Robert De Niro and Barry Levinson, feels like a blast from the past, and not just because of its 1950s setting. The existence of the film itself feels like a throwback, with De Niro returning to the genre that made him a household name, and Levinson returning to the spotlight after being a prestigious Hollywood player in decades past. The film’s throwback quality makes sense since it’s been in the works since the 1970s. The Alto Knights has all the makings of a classic mob movie, but how it fares in the current landscape, remains to be seen.

Source: Warner Bros. Pictures