Boy, with a squad like this one, gangsters don't stand a chance!
Hot on the heels of news that Michael Pena will be receiving his badge and gun comes word that Anthony Mackie has also joined the "Gangster Squad," according to Variety.
The "Hurt Locker" star will play Rocky Washington, a former LAPD lieutenant who went back to being a beat cop and is recruited by the elite unit dedicated to bringing down mobsters in the City of Angels -- with their number-one target being the hot-tempered boxer turned criminal, Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn).
Mackie's cohorts in law enforcement include Josh Brolin and Ryan Gosling. Reuben Fleischer ("Zombieland") is directing from a script by Will Beall, a former LAPD officer himself.
Besides the Oscar-winning "The Hurt Locker," Anthony Mackie was recently seen in "The Adjustment Bureau" and "Eagle Eye." He also played Tupac Shakur in the Notorious B.I.G. biography film, "Notorious."
Mackie is also currently rumored for a part in the upcoming "World War Z," though as that long-awaited adaptation of the Max Brooks novel shoots around the same time as "Gangster Squad," that may no longer be the case. Zombies or mobsters -- one might not be able to have both.
Anthony Mackie will next be seen with Anna Faris and Chris Evans in "What's Your Number?," a romantic comedy opening Sept. 30, and with Hugh Jackman in the robot boxing extravaganza, "Real Steel," opening a week later on Oct. 7.
