Just a few days ago when it was revealed that Johnny Depp wasn't signed to a multi-picture deal on The Lone Ranger, probably a wise move at this point, we also learned that the actor was already looking forward to his next project that wasn't part of some blockbuster franchise. That film was an adaptation of Kyril Bonfiglioli's The Great Mortdecai Mustache Mystery, an offbeat crime story that would have Depp taking on another quirky central character. Now it looks like Depp is definitely moving forward on it, and he'll be joined by the director of arguably his most forgettable recent film.
Depp will re-team with his Secret Window director David Koepp for Mortdecai, based on the final book in Bonfiglioli's Mortdecai Trilogy centered on wealthy and roguish art dealer Charles Mortdecai, whose lust for the finer things in life often gets him mixed up in strange cases. This particular story sends him traversing "the globe armed only with his good looks and special charm in a race to recover a stolen painting rumored to contain the code to a lost bank account filled with Nazi gold.”
The plan now is for Depp to fit this one in before taking on Pirates of the Caribbean 5, which means it would presumably come after he wraps up Rob Marshall's Into the Woods. It's another showy role for Depp, but a welcome break from the franchise stuff that seems to be failing him of late. Of greater concern may be Koepp, whose last film was the underwhelming bike messenger thriller Premium Rush, and has had Mortdecai sitting around gathering dust for awhile. The film was initially set up at Warner Bros., but they let it go and now it rests over at Lionsgate. Presumably if it does well, they'll look to adapt the rest of the Mortdecai Trilogy. [THR]
