Johnny Depp’s THE NIGHT STALKER finds a screenwriter–D. V. DeVincentis

Johnny Depp’s quest to bring ’70s cult TV character Carl Kolchak to the big screen took an important step forward with the hiring of D.V. DeVincentis to write the screen adaptation of The Night Stalker. According to the Hollywood Reporter, The Night Stalker is “one of the more high-profile projects in the works at the [Disney] studio because Johnny Depp is attached to star and Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) is attached to direct.” DeVincentis is best known for co-writing Gross Pointe Blank and High Fidelity.

The Night Stalker film is based on the ABC television series Kolchak: The Night Stalker, created by Jeff Rice. In the TV series, Darrin McGavin played the wry, intrepid reporter Carl Kolchak, who investigated bizarre crimes committed by very unusual suspects — supernatural agents like werewolves, vampires, and zombies. Johnny Depp is producing the film with his Infinitum Nihil partner Christi Dembrowski.

The Zone thanks FANtasticJD for breaking the news; you can read more about The Night Stalker on the Zone’s News & Views forum.