Johnny Depp to replace Ledger in DR. PARNASSUS?

By Matt Holmes / June 25, 2011

Johnny Depp and director Terry Gilliam may be about to pay the ultimate respect to the late Heath Ledger, as rumors from the British tabloid The Sun (I know, not usually to be trusted) suggest that production on the currently in turmoil THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS may soon re-start with Depp taking over where Ledger left off. Depp last worked with Gilliam on the late 90's movie FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS.

Production was cancelled on PARNASSUS on Wednesday, the day after the tragic death of one of it's lead stars some six weeks before the film was set to be completed. Depp schedule should allow him to work on the movie for six weeks if he agrees to do the movie for Gilliam, as Depp isn't scheduled to work on Michael Mann's PUBLIC ENEMIES until March. So how would a character's major change of appearance actually work in the film, which we know is about a carnival troupe who give audiences a wacky and more bizarre performance than they ever expected. Apparently there's a scene in the movie where Ledger's character is to fall through a magic mirror and the word going around the web today is that the character will then morph into someone else entirely and Depp will play that character for the rest of the film. Personally I find this an ultimate mark of respect for Ledger who is believed to have shot a good number of footage already for the film and it's a highly commendable way for his last performance to be seen by all, and a classy move from Depp to pay his respects to a fellow actor. Of course there's also the financial implications that such a move would bring to Infinity Pictures as they have already spent a large chunk of the $30 million budget to get to the point they are at now with the film and by casting A-List actor Depp, the added publicity from it being Heath Ledger's last film would help them greatly for what at the moment is looking like a financial mis-venture. I know it's not nice to talk in terms of money when actors lives are involved but this is still a big issue with the studio, they can't afford to go around chucking away millions of dollars on a project which never finished. I've read a few websites reporting this news today and I haven't heard anyone describe it as being disrespectful to Ledger because I truly believe his last work on screen deserves to be seen rather than being stuck in some vault somewhere. They've found a classy way of doing that and I hope Depp agrees to do the role and that Gilliam might be able to finish his film after-all.