Update: The Irishman will release theatrically in limited release on November 1 and begin streaming on Netflix November 27.
The Irishman doesn't yet have a release date, so when will the new Martin Scorsese movie begin streaming on Netflix? The first trailer for The Irishman has just been revealed, giving us our first proper look at the crime epic, which reunites Scorsese with Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, and Joe Pesci, but it didn't offer any clues as to when we can see it, only saying it'll be released this fall.
The Irishman stars De Niro as Frank Sheeran, a union leader and alledged hitman, with Pacino taking on the role of Jimmy Hoffa, President of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, who vanished in July 1975. Production wrapped in March 2018, but with the entire first-half of The Irishman set to feature digitally de-aged actors, there's a lot of time needed in post-production to ensure the effects are as good as possible, which is likely part of the reason there hasn't been a firm release date.
Based on how The Irishman is shaping up, however, we predict that it will drop on Netflix just in time for Thanksgiving, with the most likely date being the day before, which is Wednesday 27 November 2019. Thanksgiving is the perfect time for a major Netflix release because it guarantees them a big audience across a number of days. The Irishman was previously reported to be debuting around Thanksgiving, and with Netflix wanting to give the film as much exposure as possible then the date makes a lot of sense, and based on the trailer it looks like the kind of crime epic that would work well over a holiday release.
It was recently announced that The Irishman will premiere at the New York Film Festival on Friday 27 September, 2019. With Netflix eyeing the film as being a major awards contender, especially for the Oscars, then it'd be well-timed for a release in the heart of awards season just a couple of months later. Scorsese's movies almost always release between October-December, and his last collaboration with De Niro, Casino, released the day before Thanksgiving back in 1995. This would allow them to have the movie out in time for the holiday, and ensure eyes on it before, during, and after, without having the drop itself compete directly with football and parades.
Of course, Netflix will likely have released the film in cinemas before then. It was first reported last year that The Irishman will have a theatrical release before streaming, with Scorsese apparently pushing for a wide release for his movie. The film needs to play in New York and Los Angeles for at least week before December 31, 2019 in order to qualify for the Oscars, and the trailer notes it will play in "select theaters". There was some controversy around Netflix's theatrical release of Roma last year, so it'll be interesting to see how they handle The Irishman, which is expected to be in the running for a number of the biggest Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. Hopefully, Netflix will confirm The Irishman release date sooner rather than later.