Johnny Depp Could Play Houdini

Johnny Depp is in talks to star in Lionsgate/Summit’s The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of America’s First Superhero as magician Harry Houdini. The film will be directed by Dean Parisot (Red 2).

The story not only has Houdini as an escape artist but an investigator of the occult. Noah Oppenheim wrote the script based on the book of the same name by William Kalush and Larry Sloman.

Depp previously worked with Lionsgate on Mortdecai, which will be released on February 6, 2015. His producing partner at Infinitum Christi Dembrowski, is also in talks to produce along with Frank Marshall (The Bourne Legacy) and Bruce Cohen (Silver Linings Playbook). Dembrowski and Depp also produced Mortdecai.

It’s unknown if Houdini will shoot before Pirates 5. Lionsgate wants to begin in November 2014, which would push the Jack Sparrow sequel to early 2015.

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