We recently brought you news that cinematographer Wally Pfister's ('The Dark Knight' trilogy) directorial debut will be a science fiction film, and now it looks as though Christopher Nolan's pal has attracted a big name for his big first outing: Johnny Depp.

According to Deadline, Johnny Depp is currently in negotiations to star in 'Transcendence,' which marks the first directorial outing from Academy Award-winning cinematographer Wally Pfister. Pfister has worked as Chris Nolan's director of photography for years, notably on his Batman films and 'Inception.' Nolan and his longtime partner Emma Thomas will executive produce the film for Pfister, who recently revealed that 'Transcendence' is a science fiction film.

The film is described as '2001' meets 'Inception' and will follow "the creation of a malevolent computer program." Depp will play a character sucked into the program. (So....like 'Tron'...?)

Principal photography is scheduled to begin early next year and the film will be released through Warner Bros.

Depp is currently in production on Disney's 'The Lone Ranger' -- the long-delayed and troubled film from Gore Verbinski, which is set to hit theaters next July. His most recent output has included Tim Burton's unfortunate 'Dark Shadows,' and a cameo in '21 Jump Street,' where he reprised his role from the original 80s television series on which the film was based.

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