Warner Bros. drops first trailer for upcoming crime drama The Alto Knights

If you missed Robert De Niro on the big screen, his return in a dual role in Barry Levinson's The Alto Knights is sure to reignite your admiration for the cinematic legend.

Starring as Vito Genovese and Frank Costello, De Niro's crime drama's first trailer was released by Warner Bros. on January 15. The film is based on real-life gangsters with the same name who hailed from the Genovese family.

The trailer shows De Niro's Genovese in a tense conversation with Costello as they discuss the American mafia scene. The trailer then proceeds to show some of the "dangerous roads" they discuss about. Backed by suspenseful music, gritty shots of guns gore, and violence, and a masterful De Niro rocking his return to the big screen, Alto Knights promises to be a thrilling watch.

What is The Alto Knights about?

The film was initially supposed to be called Wise Guys but was renamed later. It will depict the lives and rivalry between two prominent mafias of New York in the 20th Century who fought for higher power in the mafia scene. It will also focus on Genovese’s attempted attack on Costello in 1957. Both the gangsters were the best of friends once upon a time but later fell into rivalry with a series of betrayals, complications, and a desire for more power.

The official synopsis of the film reads,

“Once the best of friends, petty jealousies and a series of betrayals place them on a deadly collision course that will reshape the Mafia (and America) forever.”

Levinson has previously worked with De Niro twice, on The Wizard of Lies in 2017 and Wag the Dog in 1997.

More details on The Alto Knights

This is the first time Robert De Niro is playing a dual role in the film, and the prospects of it has made fans extremely excited. Talking of the actor's performance in the film, Levinson said,

“It's amazing. He's such an astounding actor. It was literally like two different people, like I was working with two different actors”

The film also stars Debra Messing, Cosmo Jarvis, Kathrine Narducci, Michael Rispoli, Michael Adler, Ed Amatrudo, Joe Bacino, Anthony J. Gallo, Wallace Langham, Louis Mustillo, Frank Piccirillo, Matt Servitto, and Robert Uricola.

The film was initially set to release in 2024 but faced delays because of the Hollywood strike.

The Alto Knights is set to hit the theatres on March 21.