Hey Yo! Draven here.
The Wrap is reporting that James Bobin (THE MUPPETS, THE MUPPETS…AGAIN) is in early talks to direct ALICE IN WONDERLAND 2. Johnny Depp has not officially signed on for this, but Disney will not make this without him so I would expect his return to be announced imminently. Obviously, Disney has a good relationship with Bobin after his two Muppet movies and wants to keep working with him. It also goes without saying, but Disney is not getting out of the Johnny Depp business any time soon either. (Even though THE LONE RANGER is tracking low).
I absolutely HATED the first ALICE IN WONDERLAND. It was completely devoid of any artistic exploration or merit. It did make over $1 billion worldwide (and Depp got a nice chunk of that) so it’s not shocking Disney wants a sequel. Let me be clear though, the original is a complete pile of shit. The silver lining though, is that there is no way Bobin will make a worse film than the original but he is capable of so much more. I loved THE MUPPETS and am really looking forward to THE MUPPETS… AGAIN but I don’t see how he makes this work. Disney and Depp want to control every aspect of this film and I can’t imagine Bobin overcoming that.
Seriously though, what in the hell is up with Johnny Depp. 10 years ago, he was one of the most exciting actors we had. Every project he was a part of, was something that was at least worth paying attention to and now I could care less about anything he is attached to. (I know he is the main star of TRANSCEDENCE and I am interested in that, but that interest has nothing to do with him.) He has gotten too comfortable. His priorities have changed, instead of trying to prove himself as an actor; he wants his movies to make as much money as possible because he is getting a back end of the profits. I know it is stupid for me to judge him, as I have never been given an opportunity to make that much money and I would like to think I am different than that, but come on! I do know that I hate that we have lost one of our most interesting actors to the current Hollywood system. Eventually, Depp has to be comfortable enough that he can return to interesting films, right?
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