It looks like Tom Hardy is finally going to get his chance to play Al Capone. For years he was circling Cicero, part of a trilogy of gangster films by David Yates that would have him playing the infamous mobster. That never came to pass, but a new project from an unexpected director will give Hardy the role he's long sought after.
Hardy is set to play Al Capone in Fonzo, from writer/director Josh Trank. Yes, the same Josh Trank who broke out with Chronicle, then stumbled mightily with Fantastic Four. After that, his attitude, immaturity, and inability to handle the spotlight caused him to exit a Star Wars spinoff movie. This is the first we've heard from him since but now we know what he's been up to.
Fonzo will center on a rarely-explored part of Capone's life, at the age of 47 after he'd been imprisoned for nearly a decade. Dementia has begun to rot Al's mind and his past becomes present as harrowing memories of his violent and brutal origins melt into his waking life.
This will be familiar territory for Hardy, who played twin gangsters the Kray Brothers in Legend, and bootlegger Forrest Bondurant in Lawless. While it's great that Hardy is able to put all of his prior preparation to good use, the big news here is Trank's return. Here's hoping the time away cleared his head, and maybe making a film that is completely his will take some of the pressure off.
