Well, this is pretty exciting. Historical drama series, like Downton Abbey and Boardwalk Empire, are certainly having their moment so perhaps it is no surprise that Martin Scorsese has confirmed he is developing the visually stunning Gangs of New York into a television series.

Scorsese is working with Miramax to develop the series, according to Variety. Perhaps most interestingly, the director is currently at the helm of the project and working to get Gangs to the small screen himself.

The idea behind the entire series is to move the drama outside of just New York and look at the gang development in cities like Chicago also. Fortunately for Scorsese, the initial film looked at a particular community and characters and there certainly is more scope to broaden his range.

In an official release, Scorsese stated: “This time and era of America’s history and heritage is rich with characters and stories that we could not fully explore in a two hour film. A television series allows us the time and creative freedom to bring this colorful world, and all the implications it had and still does on our society, to life.”

Scorsese has worked on Boardwalk Empire previously, so he is no stranger to adapting work for television. We are just hoping that there might be at least a hint of Daniel Day Lewis as Bill the Butcher...