Rumors of an animated feature coming from Pirates of the Caribbean director Gore Verbinski and actor Johnny Depp have been confirmed. Daily Variety reports that the duo has teamed with Paramount Pictures to make Rango, a CG feature slated for release in March of 2011. Verbisnki will direct and animation will be handled by Industrial Light and Magic (ILM), with which Verbinski worked very closely on the three Pirates movies.
Conceived by Verbinski and written by John Logan (The Aviator), Rango is described as the tale of a household pet who sets out on a journey of self-discovery. The title role will be voiced by Depp, who voiced the male lead in Tim Burton’s Oscar-nominated The Corpse Bride. Verbinski’s Blind Wink Prods. is producing the pic, along with Grahm King and John Carls. Paramount’s Nickelodeon Films is also expected to play a role in bringing the film to the screen.
According to ILM, the film will use keyframe animation based on the studio’s proprietary Imocap system which captures data onset and not performance-driven motion capture. Oscar-winning Pirates of the Caribbean veterans Hal Hickel and John Knoll will be the film’s animation director and vfx supervisor respectively.
Verbinski is also working on a filmed adaptation of Take-Two Interactive’s hit horror video game Bioshock, which Logan is also writing for Universal. Set in a lost underwater city, that film is sure to feature heavy use of computer-generated visual effects.
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