You would think that after the flop of “The Lone Ranger,” Johnny Depp would ride toward something safer, but the thing is, with “Pirates Of The Caribbean 5” and “Alice In Wonderland 2” both brewing over at Disney, he’s got no shortage of paycheck, easy money gigs to cash in on. So instead, he’s taking the opposite tack, reteaming with writer/director behind one of his more forgettable non-franchise entries.
Depp is set to star in David Koepp‘s comedy crime flick “Mortdecai,” marking the pair’s first outing together since 2004’s Stephen King adaptation, “Secret Window.” Once again, it’s a book that unites the duo, this time “The Great Mortdecai Moustache Mystery,” the final novel from Kyril Bonfiglioli, that tells the story of art dealer/rogue who somehow gets mixed up in a plot involving Nazi gold, the Russians, the MI5 and more. So, “National Treasure” kinda sorta? Either way, seems like another opportunity for Depp to wear costumes and act eccentric and if things go according to plan, this could happen sooner rather than later.
Right now, Depp wants to shoehorn this movie in between Rob Marshall‘s musical “Into The Woods” and his return to wearing eyeliner in ‘Pirates 5.’ And indeed, Koepp has had this one brewing for a while over at Warner Bros., with the project recently let go by the studio, and now getting picked up by Lionsgate. If all the chips fall into place, Depp and Koepp (hey, that rhymes!) could be shooting in October.
We’re not exactly thrilled by the premise, and we suppose we should be glad that Depp is doing something non-franchise-y (though “Mortdecai” is the final of four books feature the character, so the potential for more is there) and at least it gives him a chance to work with Koepp again, whom he seems to really dig. You might remember the screenwriter was hired to pen the remake of “The Thin Man,” though Warner Bros. put that movie — which also had Marshall attached to direct — on hold last year.