When a superstar like Johnny Depp says that he has considered retirement to be “probably not too far away”, the global media that idolizes him was expected to explode it across the Internet. Depp’s fame hit it’s peak with 2003’s PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN and many are now wondering if the back to back failures of DARK SHADOWS and THE LONE RANGER may be signaling the decline of Depp’s infallibility.
Depp clarified his statement to the BBC by saying that while he has though about retiring, he still feels that he is “not dropping out any second” as he already has projects lined up for several years, including PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN 5, MORTDECAI, and Wally Pfister‘s TRANSCENDENCE. Depp is one of many high profile Hollywood celebrities such as Kevin Smith and Steven Soderbergh who have mulled retiring. Depp explained his motivation:
“At a certain point, you know, you start thinking … when you add up the amount of dialogue that you say per year … and you realize you’ve said written words more than you actually had a chance to say your own words, you start thinking of that as an insane option for a human being.”
Depp is an incredibly likeable actor (just ask my wife!) who brings everything to each role he is in, something I respect a hell of a lot. But, he has seemed like he has been coasting for a while now. I do hope that he doesn’t retire but instead chooses more challenging and diverse roles in the future.
Speaking of which, his next film is Wally Pfister‘s TRANSCENDENCE which released an all-new synopsis today that gives us a little more insight into the mysterious project:
“Will Caster, forefather of A.I., has his consciousness uploaded onto the internet. Once there, is it really Will who is interacting with humanity in order to make things better, or a darker sinister clone bent on the termination of the world as we know it?”
That sounds even better than what we have heard about the film so far. And yet, we still know nothing. We don’t really know who is playing who or even what the actual plot will be about. But, I know that Johnny Depp has a normal haircut and contemporary adult male clothing, so this could be just what his career needs to get rebooted and back to his skills as an actor.
Assuming Depp doesn’t abruptly retire like an NFL player in the middle of production, TRANSCENDENCE will open April 18, 2014.