Make up your mind please Johnny! Back in May 2013 it was announced Depp was no longer attached to BLACK MASS due to, what else, money but it looks like new backers Warner Brothers have coughed up the dough because the actor is back onboard to play notorious Boston gangster Whitey Bulger in the Scott Cooper directed crime drama.
Bulger was captured in 2011 after 16 years on the run and 10 atop the FBI’s most wanted list. Joel Edgerton will co-star as childhood friend John Connolly who, as a high-ranking FBI agent, gave Bulger inside information to help him remain the king of the Boston crime scene. Bulger’s story is no stranger to the big screen as both THE DEPARTED and THE TOWN are believed to be based on the career criminal.
Depp has a busy 2014 ahead with filming for ALICE IN WONDERLAND 2 and PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES expected to start as well as releases for Wally Pfister’s directorial debut TRANSCENDENCE, crime drama MORTDECAI, Rob Marshall’s live-action musical INTO THE WOODS and the film adaptation of Martin Amis’ LONDON FIELDS.
Director Cooper has already had his crime drama directing skills tested with recent release, the Christian Bale-led, OUT OF THE FURNACE after breaking out with 2009’s CRAZY HEART. Always fans of Depp in more serious roles; BLACK MASS is currently in pre-production with a release date scheduled for 2015.
Source: Deadline
