Johnny Depp In Talks To Star In The Secret Life Of Houdini

In the past few years there have been several movies about Harry Houdini in the works, but they’ve all been stuck in development hell. Now one of them is moving forwards as THR reports that Johnny Depp is in talks to play the title role in The Secret Life Of Houdini.

The movie has had numerous directors since it was first mooted in 2009, such as Jeff Nathanson, Gary Ross and Joe Wright, but it’s now got Dean Parisot (Red) set to helm.

The film ‘which is said to be in the vein of Indiana Jones, recasts Houdini as not just a master escape artist but an investigator of the world of the occult’.

The Secret Life Of Houdini is based on a book written by William Kalush and Larry Sloman, with a script by Noah Oppenheim, which claims that world-famous magician Harry Houdini also led a double life as a British spy. The book also goes deep into his world of magic and mystery, as well as how his legacy was later threatened by a group of fanatical Spiritualists led by esteemed British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Depp’s involvement seems dependent on when the fifth Pirates Of The Caribbean movie will shoot. Johnny is currently shooting Black Mass and then moves onto Through The Looking Glass. Lionsgate would want want Houdini to come next, kicking off its shoot in November, but that would mean Pirates can’t get underway until 2015.