Scorsese Says the Sony Hack Killed His Cleopatra Film
Martin Scorsese says a cyberattack on Sony and Seth Rogen's 2014 comedy The Interview ended his plan to make a Cleopatra film starring Angelina Jolie. Deadline reported his remarks on 30 October 2026, after he spoke with his daughter, Francesca Scorsese, on Tribeca's Crafty.
The hack in late 2014 was carried out by North Korea, and it was a state-sponsored attack aimed at Sony in response to The Interview. Rogen and Evan Goldberg co-wrote and directed that film, which is about a plot against North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Un. Sony's studio, Columbia Pictures, was at the centre of the attack.
Scorsese told the story in blunt terms. He said Rogen "ruined" the Cleopatra project, and that Kim Jong Un "doesn't have a sense of humor." Variety, which published its report on 31 October 2026, quoted him explaining the link: "They made fun of him, and he got mad and blew up everybody at Columbia."
Scorsese said he and his team had the script ready and were going to make the film. It never came to fruition, Variety reported. The project was set to star Jolie as Cleopatra VII, the last active ruler of Ptolemaic Egypt.
Scorsese and Rogen have crossed paths on screen before. Scorsese played himself in the debut episode of The Studio, the Apple TV series Rogen made, and the two men have traded jokes about the Cleopatra film in public since.
For readers who follow film, the story is a reminder of how far a dispute can travel. A comedy made nearly a decade and a half before this week's remarks is still shaping which films get made. Scorsese's comments put that chain of events back in the spotlight.
