Apparently appearing in a film considered a flop (The Lone Ranger) is no bar to continued collaboration when you’re Disney and Johnny Depp. We know this because the Mouse House is keeping its lines of communication open and Depp has reciprocated by starting to lock in a deal for Depp to return as the Mad Hatter in the** Alice In Wonderland** sequel.
Muppets director James Bobin is apparently now aboard to call the shots on the follow-up, which will Disney will be hoping replicates the success of Tim Burton’s $1 billion+ grossing original. Linda Woolverton is once more on script duty for this one, which doesn’t yet have a set schedule.
In related Disney/Depp news, he’s also apparently moved his production company, Infinitim Nihil, to Mickey’s place, signing a new multi-year first look deal to develop and produce film projects. And let’s not forget he has a new** Pirates Of The Caribbean** adventure pencilled in for 2015, with Kon-Tiki directors Joachim Ronning and Espen Sandberg preparing to bring Captain Jack Sparrow back to our screens. Michael Bolton, at least, will be delighted{
Before that return to the ocean, Depp will be seen in Wally Pfister’s Transcendence and recently signed to work with David Koepp on Mortdecai.