Jack O'Connell Confirmed for Terry Gilliam's 'Don Quixote'

After his name emerged in a rumor just last week, rising star Jack O'Connell has been confirmed to star in Terry Gilliam's eternally-developing Don Quixote, joining John Hurt in the cast. O'Connell has been absolutely on fire since landing the lead role in Angelina Jolie's WWII drama, Unbroken. He's also been given high praise for his performances in Starred Up and the Irish thriller '71 (both films are tremendous, by the way).

The Don Quixote script by Tony Grisoni has undergone significant changes over the years, and here is how the synopsis describes it now: A modern and satirical twist on the tale, “Don Quixote” stars O’Connell as Toby, a jaded commercials director who travels to Spain for a shoot and comes across a gypsy who gives a copy of his student film — a lyrical re-working of the Don Quixote story set in a quaint old Spanish village. Moved by the discovery, Toby sets off on a bizarre road trip to find the little village where the student student film was shot and gets caught up in a series of catastrophies.

Filming is to begin next spring with a May 2016 release planned.  [Variety]

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Johnny Depp and Disney plan modern day 'Don Quixote'

Talk about rubbing salt in an open wound. Probably the most infamous Hollywood epic fail has to be Terry Gilliam's The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, a production so plagued it hasn't managed to be completed in twelve years. On set injuries and other issues ruined everything, but Gilliam has continued to pursue completion of it. Watch the excellent and hilarious documentary Lost in La Mancha to see just how bad things got.

Johnny Depp was sporadically on board to play a modern man transported to 17th century Spain where he's confused for Sancho Panza(oh it sounds horrible!), and apparently he's still fond of the source material because now he's teaming with Disney on his own version. Deadline reports Depp is set to spearhead a production of Don Quixote through his Infinitum Nihil banner, based on a script by Steve Pink(Hot Tub Time Machine) and Jeff Morris that will set the story firmly in modern times. Right now Depp is only on board to produce, but there's no reason to think he won't step in front of the camera at some point.

It may be awhile before we see this in theaters, but is there any other way to look at this other than as a direct insult to Gilliam? Don Quixote the sort of title that can survive multiple productions coming out at the same time, and with Depp's star power behind his, along with Disney's financial muscle, that doesn't leave much room for Gilliam's to exist. Maybe he can be convinced to ditch his film and move over to Depp's?

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