Johnny Depp To Star In THE LIBERTINE Again
With the Cannes Film Festival upon us, deals are happening across the pond so quickly we can hardly keep up. But the biggest, most exciting news out of Cannes today is that Johnny Depp, star of Tusk and the upcoming Yoga Hosers, is set to revisit the iconic role of "The Libertine" in a brand-new, gritty reboot of his eponymous 2004 film.
This new iteration of The Libertine will be helmed by Hercules and X-Men: The Last Stand director Brett Ratner. Unlike the original classic film, which centered around a randy, syphilitic hedonist (Depp) drinking and humping his way through the 1600s, Ratner’s bold reimagining is said to be set in the present day. Marion Cotillard, no stranger to grounded, “real-world” takes on classic characters, is set to co-star.
This is a seismic shift in reboot culture. Though Depp has successfully reimagined such classic characters as Tonto, Willy Wonka, The Mad Hatter, and Barnabas Collins over the past decade, today's news represents the first time the versatile star is rebooting his own character. One wonders what this might mean for the rest of Depp's CV. Might we see Ed Wood's alcoholic descent into 1960s softcore monster roughies? Could Edward Scissorhands emerge from his castle with lethal power tool appendages? Dare we dream of a reunion with John Waters in Cry-Baby Must Die?
Of course, Depp is no stranger to revisiting roles: his filmography boasts no less than five turns as Captain Jack Sparrow, and he even managed to resurface in the sixth Elm Street movie despite dying in the first one. My man also snuck Tom Hanson into the big-screen adaptation of 21 Jump Street, to the delight of all. Later this year he will reprise his beloved role as French-Canadian detective Guy LaPointe in Yoga Hosers.
Anyway, that would have been fun. The real story of this new Libertine is decidedly less so, with the shared title thing just being a goofy coincidence. From The Hollywood Reporter:
The story, with a script by Ben Kopit, is a Dominique Strauss-Kahn-inspired tale centering on a French diplomat (Depp) who is accused of sexual assault and put under house arrest.
Strauss-Kahn was the managing director of the International Monetary Fund until 2011 when he resigned following allegations he had assaulted a hotel maid. The economist was placed under house arrest but the case fell apart due to the questions surrounding the credibility of the maid and a lack of physical evidence. A later civil suit was settled out of court.
So, Depp and Ratner are doing a drama about a real-life sexual assault case that questions the victim’s story? Ick, I guess? Let’s get some preemptive cringing out of the way ahead of time in the comments below, and keep an eye on this one.
