Variety has the exclusive:
Two years after his breakout turn in The Hurt Locker, Anthony Mackie’s reaping fresh rewards with a pair of high-profile projects. He's received an offer to star opposite Brad Pitt in Par’s World War Z, and is being eyed for a role in WB’s Gangster Squad alongside Sean Penn, Ryan Gosling and Josh Brolin.
Mackie’s reps had no comment, nor did Paramount.
While his Hurt Locker co-star Jeremy Renner ultimately won the key lead role in The Bourne Legacy, Mackie also screentested for the gig, showcasing his crossover appeal.
Mackie is currently filming Fox’s Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, and reflects the actor’s efforts to balance commercial pics with indie fare such as Hurt Locker, Night Catches Us and the silent film Bolden!
World War Z is based on the tome by Max Brooks and has Marc Forster onboard to direct. Story is set 10 years after a global zombie epidemic and is an oral history told from various perspectives. David Ellison’s Skydance Prods.is financing and producing the big-budget pic.
Gangster Squad will be directed by Ruben Fleischer with Dan Lin producing. Period crime pic is based on the Los Angeles Times’ seven-part series “Tales From the Gangster Squad.”
Mackie was last seen in Universal’s The Adjustment Bureau and next stars alongside Hugh Jackman in DreamWorks’ Real Steel. He’s also wrapped the Summit thriller Man on a Ledge with Sam Worthington and the Channing Tatum-led high school reunion indie Ten Year.