Watch the Stunning Trailer for Martin Scorsese's New Epic "Silence"

A new Martin Scorsese movie is always something of an event, and his latest film Silence looks to be no exception. It's a lavish historical epic that hits theaters next month, and the stunning first trailer has arrived. Check it out below:

Silence stars Andrew Garfield (The Amazing Spider-Man, The Social Network), Adam Driver (Star Wars: The Force Awakens), and Liam Neeson (Taken, Run All Night). It's the story of two Portuguese Jesuit priests who embark on a mission to find their mentor in mysterious, dangerous 17th Century Japan.

The film is one that Scorsese has wanted to make for a long time. The Goodfellas and Wolf of Wall Street director first started developing the movie--which is adapted from the classic Japanese novel of the same name--in the early '90s, and got close to making it in 2009.

In an interview with Indiewire earlier this year, producer Irwin Winkler revealed that production costs were kept relatively low by finding cheap locations and having the entire cast work for a reduced rate. "It was very, very expensive [when] it was budgeted, because it takes place in 1670 in Japan," he said. "We got lucky and found out about Taipei, and in and around Taipei and Taiwan, we found great, great locations. The prices were very cheap, and we were able to make it for a price.

"And all the actors, Liam Neeson, Adam Driver, everybody, worked for scale. Marty worked for scale, I worked for under scale. We gave back money. We all really decided, we're gonna put all the money into the picture, so nobody got paid. So that's how we got that made."

Silence hits theaters on December 23, 2016.