Talk about rubbing salt in an open wound. Probably the most infamous Hollywood epic fail has to be Terry Gilliam's The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, a production so plagued it hasn't managed to be completed in twelve years. On set injuries and other issues ruined everything, but Gilliam has continued to pursue completion of it. Watch the excellent and hilarious documentary Lost in La Mancha to see just how bad things got.
Johnny Depp was sporadically on board to play a modern man transported to 17th century Spain where he's confused for Sancho Panza(oh it sounds horrible!), and apparently he's still fond of the source material because now he's teaming with Disney on his own version. Deadline reports Depp is set to spearhead a production of Don Quixote through his Infinitum Nihil banner, based on a script by Steve Pink(Hot Tub Time Machine) and Jeff Morris that will set the story firmly in modern times. Right now Depp is only on board to produce, but there's no reason to think he won't step in front of the camera at some point.
It may be awhile before we see this in theaters, but is there any other way to look at this other than as a direct insult to Gilliam? Don Quixote the sort of title that can survive multiple productions coming out at the same time, and with Depp's star power behind his, along with Disney's financial muscle, that doesn't leave much room for Gilliam's to exist. Maybe he can be convinced to ditch his film and move over to Depp's?
