Martin Scorsese says he still has more stories to tell — even after a 60 year filmmaking career. The Oscar-winning 81 year-old director recently confirmed that he has no plans to retire.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Scorsese responded to the rumours of his retirement, saying: “I’m not saying goodbye to cinema at all. I still have more films to make, and I hope God gives me the strength to make them.”

Two weeks ago Variety reported that Scorsese’s next feature films, a Frank Sinatra biopic and an adaptation of Shūsaku Endō’s 1973 novel A Life of Jesus, have been put on hold. No additional news of either project is known at this time.

In April, Andrew Garfield and Miles Teller were being eyed to play the role of Jesus, in what would be a fictional retelling of the religious figure.

Scorsese gave an update on his Jesus project at the Berlin Film Festival in February: “I’m contemplating it right now. What kind of film I’m not quite sure, but I want to make something unique and different that could be thought-provoking and I hope also entertaining. I’m not quite sure yet how to go about it.”

He continued: “Maybe I’ll get some sleep and then wake up and I’ll have this fresh idea of how to do it. The possibilities of making a film, the concept of Jesus, the idea of Jesus really stems from my background growing up in the Lower East Side, my interest in Catholicism, in the priesthood, which really led, I think, ultimately to the film Silence.”

Scorsese’s Sinatra biopic has been in the works since (reported) 2009. Recent reports suggest that Sinatra’s family do not approve of Scorsese’s approach to the iconic singer’s story, which would heavily showcase Sinatra’s connections with organised crime.

At least Scorsese confirmed his new project, ‘Shipwrecks of Sicily’ is underway.

“I’m filming between Ustica and Taormina. It’s a documentary about marine archaeology,” Scorsese said. “I saw an amphora [an ancient Greek or Roman jar] pulled from the sea, and it moved me deeply.”

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