Johnny Depp is in talks to play legendary Boston mobster Whitey Bulger in the Barry Levinson directed “Black Mass”.

Deadline says the movie, about a crook that “rose to the top of the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted List when he disappeared for a decade before he could be put behind bars”, has risen to the top of the most wanted list in the upcoming European Film Market in Berlin.

Universal, who Depp worked with on similar-themed gangster flick “Public Enemies”, will release. Production begins in May.

“I could not be more thrilled to have the biggest star in the world and Academy Award winning director Barry Levinson to finally bring this incredible story to the big screen,” said Cross Creek’s Brian Oliver, Producer. “We have been working on this project since we originally optioned the book in 2005. Black Mass expertly details the twists and turns of this highly complex story, painting a vivid portrait of Boston’s underbelly and its corrupt political machine, as well as exposing the worst scandal in FBI history. It’s also an examination of loyalty to family, Irish heritage, and South Boston.”

Mark Mallouk wrote the screenplay for the film. Ben Affleck has written a Bulger biopic of his own, one he hopes friend Matt Damon will eventually headline.