AceShowbiz -

Benedict Cumberbatch has joined the cast ensemble of Whitey Bulger biopic "Black Mass". He is brought in as a last minute replacement for Guy Pearce who departed the project due to scheduling conflicts. "We were not able to make it work with Guy," Cross Creek Pictures president Brian Oliver told Variety.

Pearce was originally set to play Bulger's brother, Bill, who was president of the Massachusetts Senate and a big power broker in town. Joel Edgerton is booked to tackle the role of FBI agen named John Connolly who is also Bulger's childhood friend, while Johnny Depp is tapped to portray the main character.

The film tells the story of Bulger, who became an FBI informant to bring down a Mafia family invading his turf. He was later outed as a criminal himself and went into hiding when the Feds closed in on their targets. He became a fugitive for years before being arrested in 2011. Connolly also ends up in prison for tipping Bulger about the Feds' plan.

Scott Cooper ("Crazy Heart") serves as a director for the biopic. Production has begun in Boston, Massachusetts. Dakota Johnson, Juno Temple, Jesse Plemons, and another newly added member Adam Scott are among the cast as well. No release date has been announced for this pic.