Robert De Niro’s Transformation In ‘The Irishman’ Has Become A Meme For The Ages

Martin Scorsese’s decades-in-the-making mob epic, The Irishman, finally premieres Friday, September 27th, at the 57th New York Film Festival. But for everyone not living in the five boroughs — “Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Staten Island, and the Bronx,” to quote another mob epic — you’ll have to wait until November 1st, in limited theaters, or November 27th, on Netflix, to see it. The “it,” of course, being the digital de-aging of the film’s cast, including Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, and Joe Pesci. A new trailer, released during Wednesday’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, gave us our best look at the budget-busting computer-generated transformations the actors went through.

The Irishman is an “epic saga of organized crime in post-war America told through the eyes of World War II veteran Frank Sheeran, a hustler and hitman who worked alongside some of the most notorious figures of the 20th century,” according to Netflix. “Spanning decades, the film chronicles one of the greatest unsolved mysteries in American history, the disappearance of legendary union boss Jimmy Hoffa, and offers a monumental journey through the hidden corridors of organized crime: its inner workings, rivalries and connections to mainstream politics.” The streaming service also released four images of Frank Sheeran (De Niro) throughout his life, from young soldier Frank to old funeral Frank (tag yourself!), along with the caption, “A lot can happen in lifetime.”

— The Irishman (@TheIrishmanFilm) September 25, 2019

One thing that can happen is turning the tweet into a meme, and it happened a lot.

— แบรี่ เบิร์กเงิน (@MonNotMon) September 26, 2019

A lot can happen in a lifetime. pic.twitter.com/EUDMDWjxcW

— Thijs Meuwese (@ijsthay) September 26, 2019

A lot can happen in a lifetime. pic.twitter.com/VMkl5Do5Mp

— david ehrlich (@davidehrlich) September 25, 2019

a lot can happen in a lifetime. pic.twitter.com/G1ecpFoWRt

— ✍️ roxana | zivar | hadadi ⚒️ (@roxana_hadadi) September 26, 2019

A lot can happen in a lifetime. pic.twitter.com/71pOOXV6CX

— A.A. Dowd (@AADowd) September 25, 2019

A lot can happen in a lifetime pic.twitter.com/YCHCpH9Sa9

— Jon (@prasejeebus) September 25, 2019

A lot can happen in a lifetime. pic.twitter.com/0XrETahOAo

— TIFF (@TIFF_NET) September 25, 2019

A lot can happen in a lifetime. pic.twitter.com/Zv9SArP6ic

— TheOneRing.net (@theoneringnet) September 26, 2019

A lot can happen in a lifetime pic.twitter.com/kQk8ML6pAK

— Fiona Apple LP5 2020 (@bisexualcolin) September 26, 2019

A lot can happen in a lifetime. pic.twitter.com/BvjUtW8gGj

— Dave Howarth (@georgesaloon_) September 25, 2019

A lot can happen in a lifetime pic.twitter.com/JIuITmsMKq

— ᴵᴹᴬ (@I_M_A) September 26, 2019

A lot can happen in a lifetime. pic.twitter.com/QzDRn5pz26

— Nathan Steinmetz (@Humanstein) September 26, 2019

A lot can happen in a lifetime pic.twitter.com/h5Kcsf2DOc

— iammattepp (@iammattepp) September 26, 2019

A lot can happen in a lifetime. pic.twitter.com/OWPRruCWGJ

— Seth Needle (@seth_needle) September 26, 2019

A lot can happen in a lifetime pic.twitter.com/5SA1UR8gvm

— John Boo-rhel (@johnbrhel) September 26, 2019

A lot can happen in a lifetime. pic.twitter.com/9UWBc9XCPP

— brennan (@brennanhimself) September 25, 2019

A lot can happen in a lifetime. pic.twitter.com/YKRUfG1p0H

— Cansadinho. (@sergb__) September 25, 2019

a lot can happen in a lifetime pic.twitter.com/TR7JRPHXLj

— Alison Herman (@aherman2006) September 25, 2019

A lot can happen in a lifetime pic.twitter.com/ekVIVr47fz

— Matthew St.Clair (@filmguy619) September 25, 2019

A lot can happen in a lifetime. pic.twitter.com/it1qSfNObC

— Ben Stark (@BenStarkFilm) September 26, 2019