News > Depp to finish Ledger's role in Gilliam's Imaginarium?

Written by Lucas C Haberstich

It seems we may get a new film from Terry Gilliam yet.  ContactMusic sheds light on the future of the hard-lucked director's current project, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.  Halted by the untimely death of lead actor Heath Ledger earlier this week, there may be a built-in plot device that will allow Johnny Depp to step in and finish the role.  

According to a studio source in Brit newpaper The Sun:

"There is a point in the film when Heath falls through a magic mirror. He could change into another character after that and that is where Johnny would come in. It's a weird, fantasy, time-travel movie so Heath's character could easily change appearance. It would be a poignant moment. Johnny's not working at the moment so everyone is praying he will do it."

It's a bit kooky, but the idea isn't entirely out of left field.  Depp previously worked with Gilliam on both Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas and the sadly aborted The Man Who Killed Don Quixote (damn you, illness and flash floods!) and Gilliam was already comparing Ledger to Depp two years ago.  It's not a bad solution to a terrible problem and I think we can trust the man who gave us Brazil to pull the switch off in a non-jarring manner.