The success of Moonrise Kingdom has given Wes Anderson more clout than ever and like any wise director, he’s cashing it in to get his next project off the ground at a quicker-than-usual pace.  His Euro-set project, The Grand Budapest Hotel, will be his next effort and Johnny Depp has signed on to play the lead.  Given the fact that Depp has nothing ready-to-go yet once his work is completed on The Lone Ranger, I suspect this might shoot as early as this fall and hit screens sometime next year.

While Depp is new to the Anderson fold, don’t expect Wes to forgo pulling from his usual troupe.  Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Jeff Goldblum, Willem Dafoe, Adrien Brody, and Edward Norton are all currently linked to the project; as well as newcomers Jude Law and Angela Lansbury.  Scott Rudin and Steven Rales are once again producing.  What should we expect from The Grand Budapest Hotel?  Something quite unlike his most recent work…

I think the next movie I’m doing… I have a script that I’ve just finished and that one I would say does not really follow that vein. I don’t think it’s… I would say it’s not very family friendly. (Laughs) I would say I did go from a movie that’s, at least theoretically, meant to be made for an audience of children, which was FANTASTIC MR. FOX, to a movie that is about children whoever the audience is meant to be. So there’s at least some continuity between those two.

Moonrise Kingdom is a fantastic film and I’m ecstatic at the prospect of getting a new effort from Anderson sooner than usual.  The supporting cast will be perfect as always and will, along with Wes, hopefully inspire Depp to leave the comfort zone that he has been settled into for almost a decade.  Perhaps this is just what the doctor ordered and will give Johnny the shot in the arm that is needed?

Source | /Film