Boards
Johnny Depp is going from Jack Sparrow to William Shakespeare. | Source: WENN
Is Johnny Depp trading his Mad Hatter role for Macbeth? The eccentric, eclectic, and somehow ageless movie star is developing a TV series based on all of Shakespeare’s plays.
Details on the show are still murky, but so far we know this: The show will be a scripted series that gives a “modern take” on Shakespeare’s works, intertwining plots, characters, and story lines from each. So we’re thinking we’ll get to see, say, Tybalt sparring with Iago (or teaming up with him–a real axis of evil right there!) or maybe Romeo making out with Ophelia in a moment of weakness.
It’s unclear exactly what kind of role Johnny Depp will have in the project, as it’s still in development, but as a producer, his name will be all over this. We’re hoping he’ll guest star in at least a few episodes–or, you know, take on every single romantic lead role (we can dream).
Johnny Depp’s project will be the latest in a long line of Shakespeare adaptions for TV and movies–remember 10 Things I Hate About You (based on The Taming of the Shrew) and Leonardo DiCaprio as Romeo in William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet? On a more recent note, some could say Sons of Anarchy is essentially based on Hamlet, just with motorcycles and leather instead of swords and poison.
We think Johnny Depp would be a pretty badass (and beautiful!) Hamlet, but we’d love to see him in a villain role, too. No one ever roots for Iago in Othello, but what if he were played by the same dude who made Captain Jack Sparrow a household name? Or a meddling, douchebag Polonius? Though since he’s got a production credit–and producers run stuff–maybe he’ll take on Prospero from The Tempest. The possibilities are pretty endless–and pretty freakin’ exciting!
Do you dig Shakespeare? Are you excited for Johnny Depp’s Shakespeare series? What’s your favorite Shakespeare play? Who do you think Johnny Depp should play? Tell us in the comments!
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I don’t think I could be more excited about this. Shakespeare is my idol. He reinvented our language. He invented the human being!! Well, at least he was able to reflect every single human emotion and feeling, he’s the best! And Johnny Depp…I’m speechless, one of the best actors of all time (in my opinion) working on a show based on one of the greatest playwrights of all time!! I think I’m having a heart attack…can’t wait to watch it!
What with Joss Whedon doing his own version of a Shakespeare play, I think it’s a great time to see someone like Johnny Depp show us something modern from the bard as well! I’d love to see Depp play the conflicted Macbeth surrounded by violence and mysticism, or even Tybalt “Prince of Cats” from Romeo and Juliet, as we saw with John Leguizamo in the beautifully done Romeo + Juliet.