American ex-patriate Johnny Depp has hired Jim Uhls, who famously adapted Chuck Palahniuk's novel Fight Club into a fantastic script, to adapt Rex Mundi ("King of the World") from a series of graphic novels. The project will be a starring vehicle for Depp produced through his Infinitum Nihil production company, according to the Los Angeles Times.
I have the ultimate respect for Uhls (whose commentary track with Pahalniuk on the Fight Club DVD is very cool), but I'm skeptical to see how audiences will receive the film.
The setting of the graphic novels, written by Arvid Nelson and illustrated by Juan Ferreyra, is an alternate history version of 1933 Europe, where the Protestant Reformation never happened and magic is real. The plot is essentially a murder mystery version of the quest for the Holy Grail.
Will Johnny Depp's post-Pirates star power be enough to draw audiences to a film which they may view as basically Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade meets V for Vendetta meets The DaVinci Code?
Aye, there's the rub.
