Next up For Burton/Depp

[David]

They follow Dark Shadows with a remake of Dr. Phibes.

[Gothick]

Are you speculating, or has there been a definitive press release with studio contracts, etc.?

Thanks for clarifying.

G.

[David]

it's just been announced.

[David]

Depp will also be playing The Wolf in the fairy tale musical Into The Woods, co-starring Star Trek's Chris Pine & Meryl Streep. Rob Marshall (Chicago) directs.

[David]

www.naughtybutnicerob.com/johnny-depp-to-star-in-the-abominable-dr-phibes-remake/

[Cousin_Barnabas]

Is nothing sacred?

As long as SGS doesn't write it, there may be hope.   

[MagnusTrask]

I just saw Phibes for the first time.   Anyway, we should be embarrassed at a culture that is now long past being embarrassed at having to rely on remakes of old films, and takes it as a given.   Still I'd like to see another Phibes film, and hope it's a new story rather than redoing the first one.   And I hope it's better than the sequel.

[Gothick]

Just be glad you can't read what I am thinking.  It is so beyond unprintable.

Magnus, the press announcement flatly says it is a remake of the first Phibes film, but nothing is said about the script and I'm sure once Burton and team get their claws into it, the result will bear very, very little resemblance to the original.

The Phibes story does have a number of Burton's favorite hobby-horse elements, so I can see the attraction for him.

G.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

I realize that, of course, not everyone pays attention to such things, but it was mentioned several months back that Burton/Depp had a remake of The Abominable Dr. Phibes on their plate, so the latest isn't all that much new. It's just that it's moved to the front of their cue and apparently past Depp's The Thin Man remake, which many expected to be his next. Not sure why that has been pushed back (perhaps madscntst does) - but then, as we well know with the development of DS, projects are often jockeyed around.

As Gothick said, though, Phibes has a number of Burton's favorite elements, so it's easy to see the attraction. Plus, Phibes already has multiple levels of quirkiness built into it, so its sensibility would seem like a natural for Burton and something he should be able to pull off well. Though, of course, only time will tell...

[Gothick]

My predictions:

Dr. Vesalius will be female in this version & portrayed by HBC.  (Remember, I said HBC would play Julia in Depp Shadows, and although many dismissed the prediction... I was right.)

Vulnavia, no longer mute, will be played by Beyonce, who will *perform* the songs this time around.

George Clooney will be tapped for the Trout role (don't know why this comes to me, but it does.)

Burton will seed references to his own oeuvre throughout, such as a murder that somehow has a Scissorshands theme.

That's all she wrote.

G. (off to salute the porcelain goddess now... ugh)

[madscntst]

Hey all-- the Dr. Phibes report comes from a tabloid-style source, so I am not really convinced this is for real.  There are often some crazy rumors going around for Johnny's potential upcoming films and only a fraction of them end up being legitimate.  Somehow, I'm a bit skeptical about this one unless we hear more from one of the major trades (Variety or Hollywood Reporter), or of course, from the horse's mouth.  It sounds almost like Tim or Johnny may have said it as a joke (like how Johnny always says he wants to play Carol Channing) and it got picked up as a real thing.  But that said, you never know- it could be true.

If this is indeed true, I think it will be awhile before it gets made.  Johnny is currently filming a sci fi  film called Transcendence in LA and New Mexico, and that will go through July.  In August, he's slated to start filming Black Mass, a movie about Boston crime boss Whitey Bulger.  Into The Woods will supposedly start in September in London, and we're kinda thinking that Johnny will shoehorn in his (small) role as the Wolf for Into The Woods in the middle of Black Mass filming (he's done double-duty a few times before).  After that, the ever-present Pirates 5 rumors are still in full force, with claims that it will begin filming in early 2014.  They even have a release date picked out- July 10, 2015- how they could plan a release date a year before the thing even starts filming is beyond me    Meanwhile, Burton is working on his new movie, Big Eyes. 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

the Dr. Phibes report comes from a tabloid-style source, so I am not really convinced this is for real.

I wish I could remember where I first read about Phibes some months ago, but I don't. But it was on a fairly reputable Web site (those are the only kind I read regularly), so I definitely believed it at the time. Though as we learned with DS, even reputable sources can get things wrong. And I suppose that's always a thing to keep in mind, particularly with Depp. I mean, who can forget how many sites, including fairly reputable ones, continued to report Depp was going to be part of Christopher Nolan's third and, as of then, untitled Batman film - even after Depp, Nolan and WB denied it. 

[Gothick]

Thanks, Cathy, for the update.  Didn't it take three or four years between the initial announcements that Burton & Depp were going to do the DS thing and the actual start of filming?  I seem to remember endless griping from fans that filming hadn't started yet, over a period of years.

Best, Steve

[Mysterious Benefactor]

DS was first announced in July of 2007 and didn't start shooting until May of 2011.

[madscntst]

Yes, excellent point Gothick, so it is still possible that the report is legit and it might be something that would film a few years from now.  But as I mentioned, it wouldn't happen any time soon.  I guess time will tell! MB, if you happen to find where it was previously reported, I'd be interested to see that.

Incidentally, and I'm sure it's been mentioned here, too- Johnny is also planning to star in a film version of The Night Stalker at some point, and I think they're already working on the script for that one.

Forgot to answer the question about The Thin Man- I don't know why that's been pushed back, either, but maybe it's because they didn't have a good script yet.  Also, I think Rob Marshall was going to direct that one, and he'll be busy with Into The Woods for awhile first.