New ‘Irishman’ Photos of De-Aged Robert De Niro Immediately Became a Twitter Meme

With a presidential impeachment inquiry officially underway, it’s no surprise that folks on Twitter were looking to distract themselves with something silly on Wednesday. And they found the perfect distraction thanks to the official Twitter page for The Irishman, which revealed four new images of Martin Scorsese’s highly anticipated Netflix film.

Even Scorsese’s die-hard fans have been awaiting this film somewhat apprehensively, which will premiere in theaters November 1 and on Netflix on November 27. It’s not that anyone thinks that Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, and Joe Pesci in a Scorsese crime drama isn’t a winning combination—it’s just that Scorsese spent an unprecedented amount of money and time de-aging his stars via digital effects. We already got a taste of De Niro’s CGI in July with the first trailer, which was less than reassuring. The idea is that De Niro’s character, Frank “The Irishman” Sheeran, is an aging former World War II soldier and mafia hitman looking back on his life of crime. While most “through the years” character studies would cast a young or middle-age actor and age up, Scorsese cast De Niro and aged down. The technology and ambition behind that choice may be impressive, but also, we all know what Robert De Niro (now 76) looked like when he was 46, and that ain’t it!

On Wednesday we got another look. “A lot can happen in a lifetime,” The Irishman Twitter account posted, along with four stills of De Niro in the film, looking a little bit older, a little bit angrier, and a lot more human in each one.

Personally, I think the last three look fine, but that first one is, respectfully, the stuff of video game nightmares. The point is, you can’t just tweet with a four-picture format like that and not expect people to meme the heck out of it. Maybe that was the point, actually.

Here are some of my favorites, leading off with some avant-garde humor from Decider Managing Editor Alex Zalben, because I’m an unabashed suck-up.

Points to Indiewire’s senior film critic for getting in a Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, Before Midnight, and First Reformed joke.

Matt Singer, editor-in-chief at ScreenCrush, went for De Niro and Scorsese’s jugular with a Shark Tale’s shout-out.

I’ll give The Irishman this, De Niro’s de-aging is marginally less terrifying than the evolution of Furbies.

Always love a good-natured jab at Robert Pattinson’s ever-evolving career.

Someone had to make the Dirty Grandpa joke, obviously.

A lot can happen in a lifetime… unless you’re Paul Rudd, and, based on your unchanging youthful face, literally nothing happens in a lifetime.

And finally, adding Paddington to any meme is really the only fool-proof way to meme.

Look, the world is a mess but memes are fun. Thanks for that brief respite, Twitter!

Where to stream The Irishman