Johnny Depp Set to Play Paul Revere and Kolchak?

Johnny Depp and his team at Infinitum Nihil pictures are keeping extra busy these days – the actor’s production company has just lined up two new projects for the mega-star, who’s coming off yet another box office success with the release of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

Deadline says the actor is looking at playing the lead role in a theatrical version of The Night Stalker – an inspiration for The X-Files that found Darren McGavin playing an investigative reporter named Kolchak who takes on stories that find him continually coming across supernatural monsters. Also on the docket is a film chronicling Paul Revere’s midnight ride to warn the colonial citizenry that the British were coming.

Depp is likely to play the lead in both projects, if he can find room for them in his busy schedule. Infinitum Nihil plans to start speaking to writers for The Night Stalker in the coming days – and there’s no word yet on who might direct the project should it come to fruition.

The Paul Revere project has already landed writers: Lee and Janet Batchler, who wrote the script for Batman Begins, will handle scripting duties on the feature – which will recount the 24 hours of Paul Revere’s life leading up to and including his famous ride. Both films are currently set up at Disney.

Currently, Depp is set to team up with Armie Hammer on the rebooting of the old The Lone Ranger franchise. The actor will play Tonto, the Lone Ranger’s Native American sidekick. He’s no stranger to reviving old horror-themed television series, either – Depp has been hard at work with frequent collaborator Tim Burton on a feature length film based on Dark Shadows.

We’ll bring you more on both of these projects as details come to light.