Tom Cruise may replace Johnny Depp in "Black Mass" mob kingpin bio

PanARMENIAN.Net - After Johnny Depp made a shocking departure from "Black Mass" due to a salary dispute last week, one high-profile actor, who is seemingly expected to replace Depp, has surfaced. As AceShowbiz reveals citing The Hollywood Reporter, Tom Cruise will likely nab the role of notorious mob kingpin Whitey Bulger.

Even so, a Cross Creek source tells the site that the studio is trying to "find a solution with Depp," who refused to be paid half of his usual $20 million fee after learning that the project sold softly at Cannes. The Mad Hatter of "Alice in Wonderland" is said to be offered "somewhere around $15 million if two sides can come to terms."

Depp is expected to join the Boston set on August 12. If Cross Creek still cannot change Depp's mind, and Cruise eventually steps into the coveted role, the biopic will reunite director Barry Levinson with his "Rain Man" star, Cruise.

So far, "The Great Gatsby" star Joel Edgerton has not been affected by the dispute as he is still on board to play disgraced FBI man John Connolly, the one who leads his childhood friend Burger to vanish for many years.

Jez Butterworth and Mark Mallouk provide the screenplay for "Black Mass", which is produced by Brian Oliver, Tyler Thompson, John Lesher and Christi Dembrowski.