As one of the biggest stars in the world, Johnny Depp has an extremely full slate. Gore Verbinski's The Lone Ranger will be out in a few weeks, he is currently in production on Wally Pfister's sci-fi drama Transcendence, he will soon star in the Barry Levinson-directed gangster film Black Mass, he recently signed on to star in the musical adaptation of Into The Woods, and just a little while ago a pair of directors were found for the coming Pirates of the Caribbean 5. Sadly, however, it now seems as that one of those titles may soon be disappearing off of his upcoming filmography.
According to Deadline, it looks has though Depp might not be starring as Boston mob leader Whitey Bulger in Black Mass after all. While the report doesn't get very specific, apparently the issue is in sorting out the star's deal and that "things aren’t looking great at the moment." It's an interesting development given that just two weeks ago the production added Aussie rising star Joel Edgerton to the cast as FBI Agent John Connolly, a childhood friend of Bulger's who tipped the kingpin off when the cops were ready to knock down his door. The film is based on the non-fiction book of the same name by Dick Lehr and Gerard O'Neill and centers on the relationship between the two men. Production is meant to start this summer.
The site does offer that nothing has been decided either way yet, so perhaps there is still hope.
