Fans of Johnny Depp have been watching his slow reintegration into Hollywood with interest in the years since his legal wrangling with Amber Heard came to a conclusion. While the actor has stayed away from the mainstream spotlight since then, he has been slowly building up a list of potential roles, one of which sees him playing Satan in the latest movie from visionary director Terry Gilliam . After a long period without any updates, it seems that the movie is still being worked on and is expected to start filming this year.

Originally entitled The Carnival at the End of Days, the film will now reportedly just run under the truncated title of Carnival. Considering Gilliam is behind such movies as The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnasus, the original title was not exactly out of character, but it looks like short and intriguing is now the name of the game.

There have been rumors and reports about the project swirling for a long time now, without any truly concrete information being revealed. But in a recent interview with Box Office Biz, Italian producer Guglielmo Marchetti confirmed a long-awaited update on the project.

“The next executive production that we will be working on at the beginning of 2025 is a real blockbuster that I am personally very proud of. After having handled the distribution of Doctor Parnassus in 2009, I am returning to work with one of the greatest directors in the world, the visionary Terry Gilliam who will direct a stellar cast: Johnny Depp, Jeff Bridges, Jason Momoa, Adam Driver, Asa Butterfield and Emma Laird. The work is titled Carnival and for the making of this film, a pool of Italian executive producers and several post-production companies will also be involved by the American producers. The Cinecittà sound stages will be used for the interiors and over 3,000 people will be employed in Italy in the making of the film.”

‘Carnival’ Continues Johnny Depp’s Quiet Hollywood Return

In the last few years, Johnny Depp has appeared in the movie Jeanne Du Barry and directed Modi: Three Days on the Wings of Madness. While Depp is set to reunite with Blow co-star Penélope Cruz in Day Drinker, Carnival could turn out to be the most prominent of his recent roles, as he takes on the part of Satan alongside Jeff Bridges’ God. However, as Gilliam previously revealed, people should be prepared to be offended by the depictions of biblical characters who may not be exactly as they are usually seen.

“He won’t be the God we’re used to. In the film, God is nature. But a nature that can speak to you. I’m going to need animation to bring it to life because in the scene with God, there are at least fifteen animals, and it’s going to be complicated because it has to be realistic. And it’s going to be very expensive, what will happen? But it’s a good scenario. It will be very funny for those who like to be offended.”

The logline for the movie reads, “God, disappointed with what’s gone down on planet Earth, wants to wipe out Humanity and the only one who wants to save them is Satan, who convinces God that two young people he’s found are the new Adam and Eve.” This certainly seems likely to have some people up in arms, and the inclusion of Depp will cause some more flurries of controversy, so we can prepare to see plenty more about Carnival as production gets under way.