Actor Matt Damon poses at the premiere of the HBO documentary ''His Way'' which portrays the life of legendary movie producer Jerry Weintraub, at the Paramount theatre in Los Angeles
Actor Matt Damon poses at the premiere of the HBO documentary ''His Way'' which portrays the life of legendary movie producer Jerry Weintraub, at the Paramount theatre in Los Angeles March 22, 2011. Reuters

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are returning to their Boston roots to make a movie about New England's most notorious mobster, TheWrap has confirmed.

We're doing a Whitey Bulger movie, Damon told GQ.com.

Affleck will direct and Damon will star as Bulger in the Warner Bros. movie. Terence Winter (The Sopranos, Boardwalk Empire) is writing.

Bulger is a compelling character for Affleck, who has a deft touch in movies about his hometown. His 2007 Gone Baby Gone beautifully captured Boston's gritty side, and his 2010 film The Town nailed South Boston.

Of course, Affleck and Damon became famous with their 1997 Oscar winner Good Will Hunting, about two friends from South Boston.

For years, James Whitey Bulger was the boss of the Winter Hill Gang in Boston. At the same time, he was an FBI informant.

Bulger, whose brother is a former president of the Massachusetts Senate, served time in federal prison on California's Alcatraz Island, was a brutal and well-known figure in Boston. He fled New England in 1994 and spent some 16 years in hiding in Santa Monica. The gangster was arrested outside his apartment house this past June.

Of course, with several other competing projects about the gangster in development, Damon and Affleck better hurry.

There are a couple of competing (Bulger) movies, and I don't think it's been announced yet that we're doing it, Damon told GQ. But the sooner it's announced the better, just because everyone else will back off, hopefully. I'm really excited about it.

Fbi