With Ben Affleck’s upcoming role as Batman stealing the headlines lately, one project of his that has really been brushed out of mind is the Whitey Bulger film that he’s set to direct his childhood buddy Matt Damon in. We haven’t heard anything about it in a while now but this week we’re receiving word that Warner Bros. and Affleck are bringing scribe Aaron Stockard on board to do some re-writes on the script, which hopefully means fresh life for this long-awaited project.
Stockard and Affleck previously worked together on Gone Baby Gone and The Town, the latter of which being the film that proved for many that Affleck is a legitimate director and has a bright future behind the camera. We don’t know a ton about the Whitey Bulger project just yet but it’s been confirmed that Affleck, his brother Casey and Matt Damon will all star. The focus of the story is not known yet.
While this may seem like bad news, I wouldn’t be worried that Stockard is being called in to work on the script, or that the script is being passed around to various writers. I’d say that this is probably just routine script work, and there’s no one better to tune it up than Stockard, who Affleck’s had great success with before.
We still don’t know when this film is going to hit theaters, or even go into production for that matter. Affleck has a busy schedule coming up between directing and starring in Live By Night and of course, his role in Batman vs. Superman, but hopefully after wrapping on those two projects we’ll get to see this film next, as it sounds like an exciting gangster tale. Plus, I’m always thrilled to see the Afflecks and Damon back in Boston. Now they’ve just got to find a role for Cole Hauser.
What do you think of Stockard polishing the script for the Whitey Bulger film? Are you still excited after this long wait? Head on down to the comments section below to share your thoughts.