With Johnny Depp as the star at the centre of true-crime Boston mob drama Black Mass, his gravitational pull has been attracting other actors. Director Scott Cooper now has Juno Temple and Jesse Plemons in talks for the film{
Cooper has reworked Mark Mallouk’s script for the film, itself loosely based on Dick Lehr and Gerard O’Neil’s book Black Mass: The True Story Of An Unholy Alliance Between The FBI And The Irish Mob.
Depp will play 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 (Joel Edgerton) 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. Guy Pearce is set as 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.
Temple is down for the role of a prostitute, while Breaking Bad's Plemons will once more be channelling his dark side as Kevin Weeks, part of Bulger’s inner circle. They’re set to join a cast that should also include 50 Shades Of Grey’s Dakota Johnson as Bulger’s long-time girlfriend.
Assuming Plemons does end up in the film, it could take him out of contention for a role in** Star Wars: Episode VII, but his negotiations for Black Mass may indicate that he’s not in J.J. Abrams film or that he’s figured out a schedule to do both.