We’ve got a couple of casting stories to attend to this afternoon.  First up, THR reports that Jesse Plemons (The Master) and Juno Temple (The Dark Knight Rises) are in talks to join Johnny Depp in the Whitey Bulger drama Black Mass.  This tidbit appears to confirm that, while he indeed met for the project, Plemons is likely out of contention for a role in Star Wars: Episode VII.  The J.J. Abrams-directed sequel will be filming at the same time as Black Mass and Plemons would be unable to do both movies, so the fact that he’s actively seeking other work in the near future signals that we probably won’t be seeing Landry in a galaxy far, far away.

Depp is set to play Bulger in Black Mass, with Joel Edgerton and Guy Pearce onboard to co-star and Dakota Johnson in talks for a role.  Though the project initially had Barry Levinson attached to direct, this retooled version has Out of the Furnace helmer Scott Cooper in the director’s chair.  A May start-date is being eyed.  Hit the jump for casting news regarding The Way, Way Back directors’ next project.

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Additionally, The Wrap reports that Sam Rockwell and Allison Janney are in talks to join Kristen Wiig in the action-comedy The Heart.  The film marks the follow-up feature for The Way, Way Back writers/directors Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, who made their directorial debut on the 2013 comedy.

Rockwell and Janney both had roles in The Way, Way Back, so this would mark a reunion of sorts.  In The Heart, Wiig plays a cash-strapped woman who agrees to transport black market organs with a man she just met.  Rockwell is looking to play the aforementioned man, while Janney would fill the role of Wiig’s intimidating boss, a woman who has two boyfriends.  However, Janney first has to ensure that the production will fit into her hiatus from the CBS comedy Mom.  Filming on The Heart is scheduled to begin in May in North Carolina.