It’s not every day you snag Johnny Depp to headline your directorial debut; but not every first-time director is an Academy Award winning cinematographer, either.
Deadline reports Johnny Depp is negotiating to star in Transcendence, the feature debut from celebrated DP Wally Pfister. Pfister is most well-known for his collaborations with Christopher Nolan, including all three Batman films and Inception, for which he won the Best Cinematography Oscar. Nolan and producing partner Emma Thomas will serve as executive producers.
The plot of Transcendence is anyone’s guess at this point. The script is being written by newcomer Jack Paglen. The film is so new, it’s still listed on IMDb as “Untitled Wally Pfister Project” (a page which offers no details).
But it’s got to be something incredible for Depp to sign up right away. The Lone Ranger star is frequently rumored to star in every big upcoming film, including Wes Anderson‘s The Grand Budapest Hotel (which Anderson denied).
Pfister had great things to say about Johnny Depp, calling him “a creative and intelligent artist whom I feel will bring great depth to the character and the overall narrative.”
Whatever that character or narrative turns out to be, the combo of Depp, Pfister, and Nolan sounds promising.
