Johnny Depp has had an on/off attachment to the Whitey Bulger biopic, Black Mass, for quite awhile now, but the film has only had momentum while he was on board. When salary concerns led him to drop out, the project stagnated, lost director Barry Levinson, and didn't resurface until Depp came back. And now the the film has just taken its most significant step forward with Warner Bros. coming aboard to co-finance and distribute.
Scott Cooper (Crazy Heart) remains on board as director, and it looks as if the prior reports of Tom Hardy taking the co-lead have proven untrue. Instead it will be Joel Edgerton taking on the role of Bulger's friend and FBI agent, John Connolly, who tipped off the infamous Boston mobster. Edgerton returns after being set for the part back when Levinson was still involved, but departed the film when it started falling apart.
The unfortunate victim of this deal is the Bulger biopic Matt Damon and Ben Affleck were developing for themselves. Warner Bros. has ended their association with the film, which would have had Damon in a starring role and Affleck possibly directing, with a script just turned in by The Wolf of Wall Street's Terence Winter. They were given a couple of days warning about the impending move, but don't be surprised if Warner Bros. seeks to soothe their golden boy Affleck in the next few days. Nobody wants to piss off Batman, do they? [Deadline]
