For quite a while Johnny Depp was attached to a biopic of Whitey Bulger, but it all seemed to fall through last year and he left the film behind. Now Deadline reports he’s once more in the mix for the lead role in Black Mass and Out Of The Furnace’s Scott Cooper is likely to direct.
The movie will be based on Black Mass: The True Story of an Unholy Alliance Between the FBI and the Irish Mob, written by former Boston Globe reporters Dick Lehr and Gerald ONeill. However events have slightly overtaken the 2001 book, with writer Mark Mallouks screenplay taking into account that Bulger who had been on the FBIs Ten Most Wanted list for more than a decade was captured in June 2011.
Joel Edgerton was previously set to play FBI agent John Connolly, a childhood friend of Bulger who brought down the Italian mob in South Boston. It’s not known if he’s still likely to be involved.