Lionsgate has iced John Travolta’s Gotti biopic.
Just 10 days before the film was set for domestic release under the studio’s Lionsgate Premiere banner, EW can confirm that the project — about the life of ill-fated mobster John Gotti, head of the infamous Gambino family — has been sold back to production company Emmett/Furla/Oasis.
The Tracking Board’s Jeff Sneider first reported the news, further indicating that producers will seek new distribution soon. A 2018 release now seems likely, instead of the originally planned Dec. 15 bow.
Also starring Travolta’s wife, Kelly Preston, as Victoria Gotti, and veteran actor Stacy Keach as Gotti’s mentor, Aniello Dellacroce, Gotti was directed by Entourage star Kevin Connolly, from a script co-written by Haywire and The Limey scribe Lem Dobbs and The Accused star Leo Rossi.
“There are nice cars and fancy suits in the movie, but we’re also showing where all that eventually leads,” Connolly previously told EW of the film. “HBO made a Gotti movie in 1996, but his death, which was horrible, hasn’t been covered too much. That’s a different angle that we’re going to explore.” (Gotti died of cancer in prison in 2002.)
Further details, including a reason for the sale, remain unclear.