Ruben Fleischer’s anticipated Gangster Squad was initially set to be a strong awards contender this season, but when tragedy struck at a theatre shooting for The Dark Knight Rises over the summer, Warner Bros. decided to delay the release in order to reshoot a scene in Fleischer’s film that they felt was uncomfortably similar.
When the decision was made, the original footage we’d seen of the film swiftly disappeared from the Internet, and with the launch of the new poster yesterday, Apple have now released the first official trailer, following the delay.
“Los Angeles, 1949. Ruthless, Brooklyn-born mob king Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn) runs the show in this town, reaping the ill-gotten gains from the drugs, the guns, the prostitutes and—if he has his way—every wire bet placed west of Chicago. And he does it all with the protection of not only his own paid goons, but also the police and the politicians who are under his control. It’s enough to intimidate even the bravest, street-hardened cop…except, perhaps, for the small, secret crew of LAPD outsiders led by Sgt. John O’Mara (Josh Brolin) and Jerry Wooters (Ryan Gosling), who come together to try to tear Cohen’s world apart.”
Ryan Gosling, Josh Brolin, Emma Stone, and Sean Penn lead the all-star cast, joined by Nick Nolte, Anthony Mackie, Giovanni Ribisi, Michael Peña, and Robert Patrick.
Fleischer, who made a name for himself as a comedy director with Zombieland and 30 Minutes or Less, is taking a very different direction here, and I can’t wait to see how it pans out.
Will Beall has penned the script, based on Paul Lieberman’s original seven-part article in the LA Times, and with Beall set by the studio to pen their Justice League film, his is definitely a name to watch for in the years to come as well.
Gangster Squad will be released in the UK and US on 11th January, 2013, making for a perfect start to the New Year in theatres. Here’s the new, official first trailer to give you a taste of what we have to look forward to. Enjoy.
[yframe url=’www.youtube.com/watch?v=phadwgUE1to’]
