Tom Hardy looks set to play Al Capone in a new gangster epic

Production starts very soon. This could be amazing!

Given the fact that he's one of the most skilled actors around, Tom Hardy could excel in most roles but there's something about gangsters and villains that he's just great at playing. His performance as Charles Bronson in Bronson was unnerving, he perfect the mannerisms of the Kray's in Legend and as for Alfie Solomons in Peaky Blinders, well, there's a case to be made that he's the best character in the show. Deadline have previously reported that the star of Dunkirk and Warrior would be playing Al Capone in a new film that focused on the final years of the Chicago mobster’s life. Well, it appears that pre-production has already begun on the film because the local paper for New Orleans, The Times-Picayune, have reported that Fonzo is currently gearing up to start shooting and that production is scheduled to begin on April 2, according to the city's film office. As for the plot of Fonzo, the film will focus on a very specific period of Capone's life, as “dementia rots [Capone’s] mind and his past becomes present as harrowing memories of his violent and brutal origins melt into his waking life”. Here's the full synopsis: "Once a ruthless businessman and bootlegger who ruled Chicago with an iron fist, Alfonse Capone was the most infamous and feared gangster of American lore. At the age of 47, following nearly a decade of imprisonment, dementia rots Alfonse's mind and his past becomes present as harrowing memories of his violent and brutal origins melt into his waking life." Capone, who died in 1947 at the age of 48, had spent eight years in prison for tax evasion and contempt of court. He suffered from a mental condition called paresis, caused by syphilis, and spent the last seven years of his life at his mansion in Florida. Fonzo will be directed by Josh Trank (Chronicle, Fantastic Four) and Peaky Blinders fans might find it ironic that Hardy is set to play Capone. As fans of the show will know, the Season 4 of finale hinted at a possible alliance between Tommy Shelby and the notorious gangster. Of course, Capone has been portrayed on screen many times before, most famously by Robert De Niro in The Untouchables and by Stephen Graham in Boardwalk Empire. Still though, the prospect of Hardy playing one of the world's most notorious gangsters sounds incredible!