Back on track after a brief blip thanks to Johnny Depp dropping out, true-life gangster tale Black Mass has its star, a director in Scott Cooper, and another solid actor, Joel Edgerton, all attached. Now we know who will be playing Depp’s brother in the film, as Guy Pearce is in talks.
Black Mass will chronicle the story of infamous Boston crime figure Whitey Bulger, who masterminded a violent gang in Boston while also reportedly turning federal informant to take down rivals. It seemed to be working out well – particularly with corrupt FBI agent John Connolly (Edgerton, replacing a rumoured Tom Hardy) helping to smooth things – but when the Bureau began making arrests, agents double crossed Bulger and prosecuted him.
Bulger fled in 1994 and was captured in 2011 in California. While Variety’s story doesn’t specify which of his two brothers Pearce will play, we’d guess at Senator William ”Billy” Bulger, a career politician who claimed when questioned that he wasn’t aware of the extent of his older sibling’s criminal activities.
Cooper has rewritten Mark Mallouk’s script, itself adapted from Dick Lehr and Gerard O’Neill’s book Black Mass: The True Story Of An Unholy Alliance Between The FBI And The Irish Mob. And though no date is specified, it appears the film will start shooting later this year.
Pearce was last seen in** Iron Man 3** and Drake Doremus’s Breathe In. He has drama Hateship Loveship and David Michôd’s post-apocalyptic thriller **The Rover **due out this year.