Bale Joins Depp In Michael Mann’s “Public Enemies”

Michael Mann’s “Public Enemies” is about to get even better with the addition of Christian Bale to a cast that was already being headlined by Johnny Depp.

Variety is reporting that Christian Bale is in negotiations to Melvin Purvis, the legendary FBI agent who led the manhunt for John Dillinger in the early ’30s. Johnny Depp is already set to play John Dillinger.

“Public Enemies” is set during the crime wave of 1933-34 when the government’s attempts to stop Depression era criminal legends such as Dillilnger, Baby Face Nelson and Pretty Boy Floyd transformed J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI into the country’s first federal police force. Mann authored the script, based on the 2004 novel by Bryan Burrough.

“Public Enemies” was only one of several projects Mann had been considering as recently as a month ago until the writer’s strike and other events pushed it to the forefront. Depp’s film, “Shantaram” was postponed by Warner Bros. who didn’t want to shoot that film in India during monsoon season (and who can blame them really) so his schedule suddenly had a huge whole to fill. Mann, apparently decided to take advantage of the situation and moved the project to the front burners. Once Depp became involved the whole thing became a reality.

Production on “Public Enemies” is set to begin in Chicago on March 10, 2008. There’s no word on how or if this will effect the production schedule for “Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins” which Bale recently signed on for.