With one of Johnny Depp’s next projects, The Lone Ranger, recently having a question mark cast over its had, the actor has been moving forwards with his remake of the 1934 film, The Thin Man, based on Dashiell Hammett’s novel, with Rob Marshall set to direct, setting David Koepp to pen the script, Deadline report.
Depp and Koepp worked together years ago on 2004’s Secret Window, which Koepp also directed, and Depp must have loved his work to have him come on board for The Thin Man remake.
Depp has of course also recently worked with director Marshall on Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, which is one of this year’s highest grossing films, as well as one of the highest grossing films to date, taking more than $1bn. at the box office.
Hammett’s original novel was adapted for the screen the same year it was released, and the film went on to have five sequels. Depp is to star as the film’s main character, Nick Charles,
“the former detective who marries an adorable young socialite, drinks a lot and occasionally solves a case… The original intention is to take elements of the first two films and work them into one film, putting it into a period setting and giving it a Sherlock Holmes-like stylized treatment.”
All parties involved so far with the project would individually make it something to look forward to, and it’s that much more true given that they’ll be collaborating together on it. Koepp has written many successful films over the years, including, but not limited to, Toy Soldiers, Jurassic Park, Mission: Impossible, Stir of Echoes, Panic Room, and the 2002 Spider-Man film. His next film, Premium Rush, comes out in February and stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Michal Shannon, followed by Men In Black III, due out on 23rd May nxt year.
Marshall has similarly earned himself a great reputation, directing Chicago back in 2002, for which he won an Oscar nomination, Memoirs of a Geisha in 2005, and most recently taking on the fourth instalment in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, and doing a fantastic job, in my opinion.
And of course, Depp’s reputation far precedes him. The man is a living genius of an actor, and any project he’s working on is something to look forward to. He’s earned himself three Oscar nominations in the past eight years (not a bad track record at all), and we can look forward to seeing him next return to the world of Hunter S. Thompson’s novels in the upcoming adaptation of The Rum Diary with Amber Heard, due out on 4th November this year, which just had its first trailer released.
Whilst The Lone Ranger gets to work on trimming its budget down to see ultimately whether or not the project can go ahead, it’s always nice to hear Depp’s still firing on all cylinders and moving ahead on more fronts than one. The Thin Man definitely sounds like an interesting project for him, Marshall, and Koepp to team on, and I’m looking forward to seeing who will be cast opposite Depp as his wife, the leading lady. More news as and when we get it.
