Stories about major film productions hitting the skids and ending up in development limbo are a dime a dozen. Especially lately, with budgets soaring and big name stars having less of a box office impact than ever. You'll get no better evidence of that than Dark Shadows, a quirky horror-comedy that boasted Tim Burton and Johnny Depp, yet failed to find an audience. That may be part of the reason why Warner Brothers has put on hold Depp and Rob Marshall's planned remake of The Thin Man.
We'd been hearing about the film since March of last year, with Depp and Marshall reuniting for it after the success of the latest Pirates of the Caribbean film. Based on the Dashiell Hammet book and fantastic 1934 film starring William Powell and Myrna Loy, the story centers on Nick and Norah Charles, a pair of hard drinking socialites who moonlight as detectives. The search had been on for someone to play Norah, with Rachel Weisz as the first name floated. A few months ago a slew of names emerged, including Carey Mulligan, Emma Stone, Isla Fisher, Kristen Wiig, and Emily Blunt. The plan had been for production to begin in November, but with Marshall setting to take on an adaptation of Steven Sondheim's Into the Woods, plans have been set aside. Depp also, who has been working like a dog for years now, would like to take a little time away.
There's also the possibility that Warner Brothers is a little skittish about the budget, which Deadline notes was hovering around $100M. Considering Depp's poor box office track record of late, combined with the studio's penchant for axing fiscally irresponsible productions(Akira, Paradise Lost), it's not out of the realm of possibility that The Thin Man won't happen at all. The film was never officially green lit to begin with.
In the end I don't think Warner Brothers will back away from a Depp/Marshall film, especially since it has much the same blockbuster potential as Sherlock Holmes if done right. The budget will likely be pared down, and when all the schedules are clear we'll probably be seeing The Thin Man rolling once again.
