Register  |   Log In  |  
Sign up to our weekly newsletter    
Follow us on   
Empire Magazine
Search   
Empire Magazine
Empire Magazine
Look inside the issue
Subscribe today
Download iPad edition
Subscribe Now For Only £40
And get 12 issues + Ghost Recon game
Download The iPad Edition
Now optimised for the retina display

Movie News

LATEST HEADLINES
YESTERDAY
Cannes In Pictures: Day 10
Cosmopolis, Mud, Hemmingway & Gellhorn
More Movie News

RELATED NEWS
20 May 2012
D.V. DeVincentis Writing Night Stalker
For Johnny Depp & Edgar Wright
More Movie News

RELATED REVIEWS
Dark Shadows (2012)
Empire Star Rating

The Rum Diary (2011)
Empire Star Rating

Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)
Empire Star Rating

Rango (2011)
Empire Star Rating

The Tourist (2010)
Empire Star Rating

Cinema Releases
DVD Releases

Edgar Wright Directing The Night Stalker
Johnny Depp will stalk the night...

23 February 2012  |  Written by James White  |  Source: Deadline


Edgar Wright Directing The Night Stalker

Last July, it was announced that Johnny Depp had added yet another potential project based on a classic series, signing on to develop a new film from The Night Stalker with Disney. Now the project has a director, in the shape of Shaun Of The Dead and Scott Pilgrim man Edgar Wright.

Depp, working with Infinitum Nihil producing partner Christi Bembrowski, is planning to live out another of his childhood fantasies, taking over the role of tabloid reporter Carl Kolchak, as made famous by Darren McGavin in the set of TV movies and eventual spin-off series back in the 1970s.

Kolchak’s nose for a story always saw him sniffing up some very dangerous trees, with his investigations leading to run-ins with werewolves, vampires, zombies, aliens and other supernatural beasties. It’s no surprise that X-Files creator Chris Carter always cited the character as one of his major influences and scored Gavin to star in a couple of episodes of that show. The actor also cropped up in a cameo standing at a reporter’s desk in the short-lived 2005 remake of the TV show.

Now Depp is looking to play Kolchak, and Wright is aboard to help oversee the film from the very start. Since there’s no writer attached yet, we can assume that this one won’t be happening immediately.

Both Depp and his new directing pal are busy men, with the actor involved in numerous films as both star and producer and Wright boasting a few gestating projects of his own, including Ant Man for Disney/Marvel and, we hope, writing The World’s End with Simon Pegg. 

Depp will next be seen in Tim Burton’s Dark Shadows, which will spook us all on May 11.

 
 

Have Your Say
To comment on this, and all articles, register for free or login now.

Jennifer Ehle's Looking For Bin Laden
As is Nash Edgerton
Todd Field Accepts The Creed Of Violence
Update: He's got the funds to make it

Advertisement


Your Comments

RE: I was looking forward to this but I hope
Don't know anything about the Night Stalker. For all I know I could love it, but right now, I just see it as a distraction from either At World's End or Ant Man! More

Posted by Nimrods Son at 22:42 on 27 February 2012 | Report This Post

I was looking forward to this but I hope
Disney give it the right treatment. Night Stalker isn't a blood splattering gore fest but it isn't Ghostbusters either. More

Posted by potemkin1925 at 14:52 on 24 February 2012 | Report This Post

The Midnight Rambler, Baby!
I read another report on this which said Johnny Depp's Night Stalker will be "toned down for a DIsney audience." Oh dear, sounds like we'll be getting Ghostbusters for kiddies folks. More

Posted by BenTramer at 01:21 on 24 February 2012 | Report This Post

Edgar Wright movie? Always a damn good thing, baby! More

Posted by Silvio Mugabe at 17:43 on 23 February 2012 | Report This Post

RE: Tales From The Darkside
I think it's time for him to give up on Ant Man now as god knows when he'd get round to doing it. It's been well over 5 years now already. More

Posted by Wild about Wilder at 10:06 on 23 February 2012 | Report This Post

Tales From The Darkside
I hope Depp doesn't turn this into a jokefest like Pirates Of The Caribbean. Hiring Shaun Of The Dead director Edgar Wright seems to indicate it will be jokey. What made all the Kolchak stories work was that they treated the supernatural as if it were real and that made it scary. More

Posted by BenTramer at 09:24 on 23 February 2012 | Report This Post

RE: Wrong wrong wrong
L: jazzyjules63 he's completely wrong for Karl Kolchak, a grizzled tabloid reportertoo much of a pretty boy. I loved the Night Stalker but I'm not holding high hopes for this. I certainly hope we don't get some sort of Burtonesque highly-stylised gothic PG piece... Totally agree with this, although I don't necessarily agree that Edgar Wright will do a Tim Burton... More

Posted by Discodez at 09:18 on 23 February 2012 | Report This Post

G R
"Wrong wrong wrong" How about we shake the gothic-Burton feeling for a moment shall we? We know Wright puts his own spin on pretty much everything he does- there's no way Depp will do gothic if Wright doesn't want it... These people aren't just rolling down a hill. There's control and foresight. Be logical, you plum. More

Posted by omgitsgray at 08:26 on 23 February 2012 | Report This Post

Wrong wrong wrong
I think he's completely wrong for Karl Kolchak, a grizzled tabloid reporter. He's too much of a pretty boy. I loved the Night Stalker but I'm not holding high hopes for this. I certainly hope we don't get some sort of Burtonesque highly-stylised gothic PG piece... More

Posted by jazzyjules63 at 02:27 on 23 February 2012 | Report This Post

Looking forward to it!
Seems like a fitting project for him. Just hope he does 'The World's End' first! More

Posted by ryanjjhall04 at 01:07 on 23 February 2012 | Report This Post

SUBSCRIBE TO EMPIRE
Subscribe To Empire Magazine

Subscribe: 12 Issues + Ghost Recon Future Soldier For Only £40
Subscribe to the world's biggest movie magazine this month and get a whole year of Empire and the hotly anticipated Ghost Recon Future Soldier for either PS3 or XBOX 360.

  • All subscription offers

  • CURRENT HIGHLIGHTS
    Moonrise Kingdom Interviews
    We chat to the Wes Anderson and his cast in Cannes

    Empire's Dark Knight Rises Covers
    New issue! Free poster! New photos! Exclusive feature preview!

    How To Make A Billion Dollar Movie
    Now that The Avengers has joined the club, do our rules still apply?

    Video Interviews: What To Expect...
    Cameron Diaz, Matthew Morrison and Chase Crawford

    Skyfall Teaser Trailer Breakdown
    Empire's blow-by-blow on Bond's return


    Back | Print This Page | Email This Page | Back To Top

    EMPIRE OFFERS
    Steven Spielberg iPad App
    Hollywood's most beloved director in this unique iPad special. Download now
    Get Ghost Recon Future Soldier
    PS3 or XBOX 360 game + 12 issues of Empire for only £40! Subscribe now
    Empire iPad Edition
    The world's biggest movie magazine available on iPad Full details
     
    Movie News  |  Empire Blog  |  Movie Reviews  |  Future Films  |  Features  |  Video Interviews  |  Image Gallery  |  Competitions  |  Forum  |  Magazine  |  Resources
     
    Mojo4music  |  Q4Music  |  Kerrang!  |  Aloud.com  |  Kiss  |  Magazine Subscriptions  |  Movie Magazine Subscriptions  |  Empire Magazine Subscription
     
    © Bauer Consumer Media | Terms And Conditions | Our Data Promise To You | Contact Us | Empire FAQ
    Bauer Consumer Media. Company number 1176085 (England). Registered Office: 21 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2DY