Martin Scorsese and Daniel Day-Lewis set to reunite for the third time

Daniel Day-Lewis was all smiles after winning his second Oscar in 2008 for "There Will Be Blood."

Credit: AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian

Martin Scorsese and Daniel Day-Lewis have already teamed up twice before, in "The Age of Innocence" and "Gangs of New York," and now it's looking like a third time is the charm.  According to Variety, the pair would reunite on Scorsese's upcoming drama "Silence."  The cinematic master and producer Graham King are also looking to bring Benicio Del Toro and Gael Garcia Bernal on board as well.

Set in the 17th Century, the film will follow two Jesuit priests as they journey to Japan to locate their mentor and spread the gospel of Christianity.  The film has been a passion project of Scorsese's for over a decade and is based on the Shusaku Endo novel of the same name.

In addition to the Scorsese and Day-Lewis paring, the film also marks the fourth collaboration between the filmmaker and King after "Gangs," "The Aviator" and the Oscar-winning "The Departed."  Yet, even with that recent pedigree, the picture still does not have a domestic distributor and is moving forward with independent financing.  King made a similar arrangement for his upcoming Martin Campbell-directed drama "Edge of Darkness," Mel Gibson's big screen acting comeback.

Day-Lewis is currently shooting Rob Marshall's musical "Nine." 

Del Toro recently starred in Steven Soderbergh's "Che" and will appear this fall as one of the movie's legendary monsters in Universal's "The Wolf Man."

Bernal is best known for his work in "Y tu mamma tabmien" and "Babel."  His Mexican hit "Rudo y Cursi" was recently acquired for U.S. distribution by Sony Pictures Classics prior to the Sundance Film Festival and should hit theaters later this year.

Scorsese, who recently completed the drama "Shutter Island" with Leonardo DiCaprio, plans on shooting "Silence" in New Zealand later this year.