Black Mass director Scott Cooper in talks to helm thriller White Knight

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Deadline has learned that BLACK MASS and OUT OF THE FURNACE filmmaker Scott Cooper is in talks with Warner Bros. to direct WHITE KNIGHT, which is being described as a potential franchise starter in the vein of the Bond and Bourne movies. The action thriller is said to focus on a disgraced Secret Service agent who "takes a job protecting the family of an arms dealer, putting himself at the center of a global CIA manhunt." If Cooper does take the gig, he'll also be rewriting the original script from THE JUDGE scribe Bill Dubuque.

It doesn't seem like BLACK MASS is going to be a major awards contender like many expected it to be before its release (although Johnny Depp will probably snag a few acting nominations for his portrayal of Whitey Bulger), but it was still a very solid crime drama, and I've enjoyed Cooper's previous directorial efforts. Who would you like to see play the former Secret Service agent in WHITE KNIGHT?

Cooper doesn't have any upcoming projects officially in the works, but last we knew he was also in negotiations to helm AMERICAN WOLF, a true-life film about the hunter in Yellowstone National Park who accidentally killed an endangered American wolf, and the unlikely friendship that forms between him and one of the wildlife researchers who works with wolves in the park.