Johnny Depp in Alice in Wonderland, Lone Ranger, and Pirates of the Caribbean 4
Walt Disney Studios held a massive event at the Kodak Theatre in LA, during which the Studios’ chairman, Dick Cook, previewed all of Disney’s upcoming films for the next few years.
Johnny Depp was at the heart of it all.
The actor showed up on stage for a triple announcement which apparently ties him to Disney for some time. That announcement was:
- That Depp will return as Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates Of The Caribbean 4.
- That he will star as The Mad Hatter in Tim Burton’s next movie, Alice In Wonderland.
- Depp is officially signed to play Tonto in the The Lone Ranger film and not the The Lone Ranger himself.
During the event, Depp came out to “The Lone Ranger” theme song while wearing his Jack Sparrow outfit along with The Lone Ranger mask and gun.
Cook said that the studio wants to make a fourth installment in their blockbuster franchise, suggesting that another sequel is in early development.
There have been past reports of a Pirates of the Caribbean 4 but nothing concrete. One Pirates 4 rumor had Elizabeth and Will (Knightley and Bloom) being tossed aside in favor of a buddy feature centered on the search for the Fountain of Youth as Captain Jack Sparrow and Barbossa ultimately team up following a bunch of double-crossing in an effort “to defeat some supernatural terror.”
Pirates scripters Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio are behind the The Lone Ranger film with Jerry Bruckheimer producing.
Alice in Wonderland comes to the movie houses 2010, will be shot using 3-D and performance capture technology similar to that used for Beowulf.
Johnny Depp and Gore Verbinski Reteam on “Rango”
Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp is reteaming with “Pirates of the Caribbean” trilogy director Gore Verbinski for “Rango,” an animated feature for Paramount.
The Paramount movie is about a household pet (Depp) that goes on an adventure to discover its true self. And while that may seem thuddingly generic and been-there-done-that, we’re trusting that Depp and Verbinski will bring a fresh approach to this material. And hiring John Logan to write the script isn’t a bad start.
Last time Depp lent his voice for an animated character was for clay-animated movie “Corpse Bride” back in 2005
John Logan (The Aviator) has written the script from an idea hatched by Verbinski. Verbinski will work with Industrial Light & Magic on the animation.
Rango aims to use cutting-edge animation techniques that “will allow us to capture and translate every aspect of Johnny’s performance, using it to drive the computer-generated character in a way that has yet to be seen in an animated feature,” Verbinski said.
Depp is set to start working on the film in January. Verbinski will direct the project as he continues to develop an adaptation of the Take-Two video game “BioShock” for Universal.
National Treasure and Pirates of the Caribbean Sequels?
If you watched the final scene of National Treasure: Book of Secrets and thought that’s the beginning of ‘National Treasure 3, you probably were right.
According to Jim Hill Media, Disney registered nationaltreasure3dvd.com and nationaltreasure4dvd.com at the end of January, thus signaling their intention to continue the adventure through at least two more sequels.
Jim Hill Media goes on to discuss the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean. He hasn’t any concrete rumour but he does revisit the final moments of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, and talks about a potential Pirates 4.
Source: Jim Hill Media
