Johnny Depp Likely To Return For ‘Alice In Wonderland 2,’ James Bobin Will Direct

Johnny Depp is likely to return for the Alice in Wonderland sequel that’s beginning to come together over at Disney.

Since Tim Burton’s adaptation of the classic tale was a box office hit, the studio is looking to tap that well all over again. Depp, who famously played the Mad Hatter in the 2011 flick, is expected to tackle the role again for the upcoming feature.

Unfortunately for Burton fans, it would appear that the director will not be returning for Alice in Wonderland 2. Instead, Disney has hired The Muppets director James Bobin to tackle the project.

Although the film received mixed reviews when it hit theaters two years ago, it ultimately went on to make over $1 billion worldwide. The studio was initially slow to put the sequel together, but it would appear that the project is finally starting to build up some steam.

James Bobin cut his teeth on several successful TV shows before making the leap to the big screen with The Muppets. His small screen credits include the HBO series Da Ali G Show and Flight of the Conchords. He is currently working on The Muppets … Again! with Rickey Gervais, Christoph Waltz, Tina Fey, and a slew of other comedians.

Alice in Wonderland 2 isn’t the only movie Johnny Depp has in the works at Disney. The busy actor is also slated to reprise his role as Captain Jack Sparrow once again for Pirates of the Caribbean 5. The movie should arrive in theaters at some point during 2015.

Johnny Depp recently dropped out of the Whitey Bulger biopic Black Mass after producers asked the actor to reduce his salary. Since Depp wasn’t willing to cut his $20 million paycheck in half, he decided the project wasn’t worth his time. It’s unclear how this will affect the deal producers struck at the Cannes Film Market last week.

Are you a fan of Johnny Depp? Are you looking forward to seeing him as the Mad Hadder in James Bobin’s Alice in Wonderland 2?