Much has been made about Johnny Depp’s (Mortdecai) recent string of misfires the past few years, which, depending on one’s position, can go as far back as 2009’s Public Enemies. The undeniably talented actor has sometimes attached himself to films that fans feel are far below his talents, which is why those fans should be excited for the first trailer for Scott Cooper’s (Out of the Furnace) Black Mass.

The trailer starts with a seemingly harmless dinner scene between Whitey Bulger – played by Depp – and David Harbour’s (A Walk Among the Tombstones) character, where the two chat about a secret family recipe. Of course, as films like these usually show, the conversation turns on a dime, and the tension quickly builds between the two men. That scene is then intercut with numerous shots of Depp as Whitey all throughout South Boston (where the film takes place), where the gangster became one of the most wanted men in the city’s history and an eventual FBI informant.

The central dinner scene in the trailer is very reminiscent of Joe Pesci (My Cousin Vinny) and Ray Liotta’s (Kill the Messenger) exchange in Goodfellas, which is one of the more memorable scenes in that classic film. For Depp, who looks menacing as Whitey Bulger, this has the potential to be one of his better roles in quite some time.

Black Mass will star Depp, Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game), Kevin Bacon (X-Men: First Class), Dakota Johnson (Fifty Shades of Grey), Joel Edgerton (Exodus: Gods and Kings), Juno Temple (Maleficent), Adam Scott (Hot Tub Time Machine 2), Peter Sarsgaard (Blue Jasmine), Corey Stoll (Ant-Man), and the aforementioned Harbour. Warner Bros. will give the film a September 18th theatrical release.