Johnny Depp heads Gore Verbinskis Rango

Johnny Depp and his Pirates trilogy director Gore Verbinski are working together again on the animated pic Rango.

The movie follows a pet that heads out on an adventure to discover its true self. Since its CGI, it means there won’t be any weather issues, months-long location shoots or Orlando Bloom this time.

John Logan is writing the script for the Paramount-financed film, which has an opening date set for 2011. Verbinski’s going to pull double duty producing the ‘toon while also working on his adaptation of the Bioshock video game.

And ILM is bringing some high-tech tricks to the table which “will allow us to capture and translate every aspect of Johnny’s performance, using it to drive the computer-generated character in a way that has yet to be seen in an animated feature,” Verbinski told Variety .

New-fangled CG character work? Paging James Cameron! Someone’s after your thunder.

The Total Film team are made up of the finest minds in all of film journalism. They are: Editor Jane Crowther, Deputy Editor Matt Maytum, Reviews Ed Matthew Leyland, News Editor Jordan Farley, and Online Editor Emily Murray. Expect exclusive news, reviews, features, and more from the team behind the smarter movie magazine. 

Latest in Action Movies
Robert Downey Jr announces his Doctor Doom casting at San Diego Comic-Con 2024
"He is so dialed in": Robert Downey Jr. is coming up with backstory and costume ideas for Doctor Doom ahead of Avengers: Doomsday
Bullet Train Explosion on Netflix
Upcoming Netflix movie is like the Speed sequel we never got, and it’s coming next month
Chris Evans as Steve Rogers in Avengers: Endgame
The Russo brothers have an idea about Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars runtimes, and one might reach Avengers: Endgame's record
Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm in The Fantastic Four: First Steps
Fantastic Four: First Steps concept art contains an unexpected MCU Easter Egg that could change the Marvel movie completely
Bloodsport
The 32 greatest '80s action movies
Guardians of the Galaxy 3
Marvel star Vin Diesel might be teasing a Groot movie: "Disney wants their Planet X!"
Latest in News
Ultima Online
As Ultima Online approaches its 28th birthday, former creative lead reveals what it takes for an MMO to last for decades, and why they sometimes fail: "Content does not last forever"
Link and Epona
A Zelda movie is finally happening, but Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto used to adamantly oppose the idea even "if Steven Spielberg himself" wanted to do it
Robert Downey Jr announces his Doctor Doom casting at San Diego Comic-Con 2024
"He is so dialed in": Robert Downey Jr. is coming up with backstory and costume ideas for Doctor Doom ahead of Avengers: Doomsday
Stardew Valley
With another "thank you," Stardew Valley creator Eric Barone brings an update arc to a close with "the Switch patch to fix the last Switch patch"
Demon Slayer Infinity Castle
Over 80 countries and 42 days: the first Demon Slayer Infinity Castle movie's remarkable staggered release plans have been revealed – including a US date
Monster Hunter Wilds
Monster Hunter Wilds' story is as divisive as expected: some players hate the "relentless on rails handholding," others love the build-up to "the best scene in Monster Hunter history"