Does Johnny Depp Know About This?
So many questions to start this report: Is Johnny Depp not available? Does Josh Brolin want to be the new Johnny Depp? Can someone please keep Tim Burton away from any more classic pieces of fiction following the godawful “Alice In Wonderland“?
THR reports that Brolin and Burton are teaming to produce a new big screen version of Victor Hugo‘s “The Hunchback Of Notre Dame.” But don’t expect it to be your grandma’s version of the tale. The project, which is in early stages at this point, is being penned by Kieran and Michele Mulroney, the writing duo behind the upcoming “Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows.” Expect more swashbuckling, cross dressing and RDJ-style quips than ever before.
Should everything come together for the project which is currently under the roof of Warner Bros., Brolin will star in the film; smart move — how do you get another tentpole role (especially after the trainwreck that was “Jonah Hex“)? Develop the movie yourself. As for Burton, he’s eyeing the director’s chair but is waiting to see how the script takes shape and he’s not available for the next little while anyway as he’s gearing up to shoot “Dark Shadows” very soon and has the animated “Frankenweenie” on the horizon as well.
It seems Brolin loves the scarred/crippled franchise heroes and we’ll wait to see where this one goes. But with Hollywood currently infatuated with fairy tales and re-imaginings of classic stories (“Red Riding Hood” and “The Three Musketeers” both hit this year) you can bet WB will be wanting this one to be moving along quickly.