Johnny Depp starrer “Mortdecai” is coming together quickly with eyes on an all-star cast as Gwyneth Paltrow and Ewan McGregor are in talks to co-star with Depp.
Lionsgate is distributing and David Koepp is directing the crime drama.
“Mortdecai,” based on the three-part series of books by Kyril Bonfiglioli, follows Charles Mortdecai, an antihero art dealer and rogue who is in a race to recover a stolen painting rumored to contain the code to a lost bank account filled with Nazi gold.
After contract disputes over Whitey Bulger pic “Black Mass,” Depp moved quickly to line up his next project.
Andrew Lazar, Depp and Christi Dembrowski are producing. Eric Aronson wrote the “Mortdecai” script.
Erik Feig, Michael Paseornek, Gillian Bohrer and James Myers will oversee the project for the studio.
Lionsgate looks to be fast-tracking the project with a high-profile team after it languished for years in development limbo.
The film will probably go into production in the fourth quarter of this year, after Depp wraps production on the Disney pic “Into the Woods.”
Paltrow’s projects this include “Iron Man 3” and the indie “Thanks For Sharing,” while McGregor was seen in “The Impossible” and “Jack the Giant Slayer” with “August: Osage County” bowing this fall.
Paltrow is repped by UTA and Brillstein Entertainment and McGregor is repped by UTA and United Agents.
