Surprise! Johnny Depp may sing Sondheim again, in Rob Marshall’s INTO THE WOODS
Johnny Depp’s first appearance in a Stephen Sondheim musical, singing the title role in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, earned Johnny a Golden Globe and a Best Actor Oscar nomination. Now multiple media outlets are reporting that Johnny is “in talks” to join the cast of another Sondheim musical: the Disney film version of the fairy-tale mashup Into the Woods, to be directed by Rob Marshall, whose credits include the Oscar-winning Chicago as well as Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.
Meryl Streep — yes, that Meryl Streep, who has more Oscar nods than letters in her name — may join Johnny in the cast; she is currently in negotiations to play the tale’s witch. Johnny’s potential role has not been announced: Variety reports that he will play the Baker, while the Hollywood Reporter suggests that he will play the Wolf. The storyline of Into the Woods revolves around a childless baker and his wife who attempt to lift a family curse by journeying into the woods to confront the witch that put the spell on them. Along the way, they encounter Rapunzel, Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack (from “Jack and the Beanstalk”) and other classic fairy tale characters.
Into the Woods has no official start date yet. According to Variety, if Johnny signs on, he would film Into the Woods after he finishes Wally Pfister’s Transcendence, which is currently shooting, and Barry Levinson’s Black Mass, which follows in the fall.
The Zone thanks Emma for breaking the news; you can read more about Into the Woods on the Zone’s News & Views forum. The Hollywood Reporter story is available HERE, and the Variety article is available HERE.